Seven Deadly Sins
by tamilnadu09
Summary: When the cure doesn't work, Elena must prove that Damon's life is worth fighting for. Seven chances. Seven trials. Wrath. Greed. Sloth. Pride. Lust. Envy. Gluttony. AU after 2x22. D/E.
1. Judgement Day

**Disclaimer: **I don't own TVD or any of it's characters.

**A/N: **yay new story! haha as I mentioned to a few people, I got the idea for this fic while I was writing The Last Stand and I finally have a little free time so I thought I'd get one last story out for the summer ;) First off, I'll just say that this is _not _meant to be a season 3 fic (there are already a ton of great ones floating around this site!) though this DOES take place after the events of 2x22. I'm thinking it'll be around 12-15 chapters long and I'm really excited for it! Enjoy :)

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><p><em>CHAPTER 1: JUDGEMENT DAY<em>

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><p>Elena sat utterly still against the wooden, straight-backed chair.<p>

If it was uncomfortable, she didn't notice.

If she had been sitting there for hours…well, she didn't notice that either.

Her gaze was fixed solely upon Damon, willing him to wake up—to do anything other than lie there, blissfully unaware of her presence.

And although she was completely consumed in watching him, she still heard the floorboard creak behind her as a quiet footstep padded into the room.

Elena stiffened but didn't turn around. She honestly had no idea who would be here at this time of night unless Klaus had decided to return for more payback.

As if he hadn't taken enough.

"Elena."

Her eyes widened slightly at the sound of her doppelganger's voice. She slowly stood up and turned around to see Katherine standing at the doorway, her arms crossed and her expression curious.

"I thought you left," Elena said, distrust edging her voice, "You know, right after you dropped off the cure and sped out of here? I figured you were running from Klaus."

Katherine didn't answer her question right away, and instead took several further steps into the room so that she could look at Damon. "He hasn't woken? Have you been here this whole time?"

"It hasn't been that long," Elena said defensively, looking down at her watch and doing a double take when she realized it was well past dawn. She added weakly, "He's just sleeping."

"Hmm," Katherine placed a hand on Damon's forehead, a frown marring her features. "I knew it," she murmured, "It couldn't have been that easy."

"What?" Elena demanded, fighting the insane urge to push Katherine away from Damon. "What are you saying? What couldn't have been easy?"

"The cure," Katherine's eyes snapped back up to meet Elena's, "I had just reached the state border when it hit me." She moved away from Damon so that she could pick up the discarded vial sitting on the nightstand. "Klaus' blood was the cure but he wouldn't have given it away so freely if there hadn't been more to it."

"_Freely_?" Elena repeated incredulously, anger seeping through her veins as she picked up her cell phone and hurled it at Katherine's face. "Stefan hasn't responded to a single message I've sent him! Not to mention that you told me he's given himself over to Klaus—there's been nothing 'free' about this whole situation!"

Katherine had caught the phone easily, and now she was staring at Elena through hooded eyes. "That's not what I meant," she said cryptically as she walked back to the doorway and stuck her head out so that she could call to someone, "You can come in now."

Elena's apprehension quickly morphed into bafflement as Bonnie stepped into Damon's room, looking slightly worried. "Elena, you're okay," she said, relief passing over her features instantly. "Jeremy said you never came home…and then Katherine stopped by and told me what happened…"

"Yes, once again you should all be thanking me," Katherine commented as she idly examined her nails, "Seeing as how I figured out something was wrong."

"So you came back because of what, exactly?" Elena turned to glare at Katherine even as Bonnie went over to examine Damon. "Out of the goodness of your heart?"

"Just fulfilling my debt to Damon," Katherine said coolly, "Klaus would have most likely killed me by now if Damon hadn't brought me that vervain."

"You do owe Damon," Elena agreed in a hard voice, "For a lot more than just the vervain."

"Katherine was right," Bonnie suddenly said, glancing at Elena. "Klaus' blood _is _the cure, but that's not all."

"What do you mean?" Elena immediately walked over to Damon's side so she could point out the obvious difference to Bonnie. "Look at him! He's better now—you weren't here before…he was dying, and now he's not!"

"I know," Bonnie said gently, "The cure did save his life. It brought him back from the brink of death."

"So what's the problem?"

Bonnie paused, "You have to understand, Elena. There's not _meant _to be a cure for a werewolf bite. Klaus—a hybrid—was not meant to exist. Now the balance of power between vampires and werewolves has shifted…and to truly save Damon, you're going to need to convince…_them_."

"Who?" Elena swallowed, ignoring the fear spiking in her chest. "I don't understand."

"After I convinced Bonnie that I was telling the truth," Katherine interrupted snidely, "She communicated with her little witch friends and they told her that someone had to vouch for Damon's life." She raised an eyebrow almost challengingly at Elena, "Someone has to convince them that Damon's life is worth saving. To bring him back from this…catatonic state."

Elena's brow furrowed—she didn't really see what the problem was. "Okay...what do you need me to do? Talk to them or something?"

"Not exactly." Bonnie knelt to the ground where she had laid down her large purse and rummaged through it for a minute before extracting the ingredients she was looking for.

Elena watched in bemusement as Bonnie carefully placed a wooden bowl onto the carpet before taking out her grimoire and flipping to a bookmarked page. "What are you doing?"

"I'm going to connect you to Damon," Bonnie answered as she surgically sliced a cut into Damon's wrist and let several drops of blood flow into the bowl. Even as they watched, the cut healed itself. She nodded in satisfaction, "His vampiric powers are back; that's good to know."

"But..." Elena trailed off as Bonnie wordlessly requested her hand. She held it out and drew in a sharp breath as Bonnie pricked the tip of her forefinger and squeezed the drops of blood into wooden bowl where they mixed with Damon's. "Is this for a spell?"

"Sit here," Bonnie ordered, adjusting the wooden chair so that it was closer to the bed and Elena would be within arm's reach of Damon. "I need you to hold his hand while I say the spell. It is the only way that the connection can be established."

Elena sat down obediently, but hesitated for a split second before taking Damon's hand within her own. As she glanced upwards, she caught Katherine flash a knowing look in her direction. "What now?"

"Like I said, you have to prove that Damon is worth saving...that the laws put into place hundreds of years ago to balance the powers of all supernatural creatures don't matter anymore." Bonnie met Elena's gaze steadily, "There will be a series of trials. Damon must pass them all in order to be fully brought back."

"Trials?" Elena swallowed as the candles around them flickered to life, "Wait—what kind of trials? What am I supposed to do?"

"_Damon _is the one who must pass," Bonnie corrected, "You are just meant to guide him...that is, if you do truly believe that he deserves to live..."

"I do," she said fiercely, daring anyone to argue with her. "Just tell me what I need to do."

Bonnie shifted her shoulders, readying herself for the spell, "You have heard of the seven sins?"

Elena suddenly got a vague idea of where this was headed, but all she said out loud was, "I have."

"Those sins are a vampire's natural instincts," Bonnie said, turning to look at Katherine for confirmation. "After all, vampires do not possess humanity's affinity for inhibition." When Katherine nodded, Bonnie continued, "There will be seven trials. If you can guide Damon into overcoming his instinctual behavior...if you can guide him into making human choices...then he will be deemed as deserving of another chance."

"That's not fair," Elena felt the uncertainty wash over her in waves, "What if he doesn't...I mean, what if..."

"You must convince him," Bonnie raised her hands over the bowl, "It is the only way."

Katherine made herself comfortable on the floor next to Elena's chair and looked up at her innocently. "You don't want Stefan's sacrifice to have been in vain, do you Elena?" She stretched her legs luxuriously and then added in an offhand voice, "Besides, I don't know what you're so worried about—If there's anyone that can bring out Damon's humanity...it's you."

Elena took a deep breath and closed her eyes as she gripped Damon's hand tightly. "Okay," she said to Bonnie, a new sense of determination strengthening her resolve, "I'm ready. Do it."

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><p><strong>*<strong>_The "Seven Deadly Sins" (or vices) are known as: Wrath, Greed, Sloth, Pride, Lust, Envy, and Gluttony. Each chapter will be a different trial/sin that Damon has to overcome. It's sorta my way of doing an AU fic without reallyyy doing AU haha. Hope you liked it so far! Be sure to drop a review ;) xoxo_


	2. Pride

**A/N: **soo I see that everyone is most looking forward to the trial involving Lust =P haha completely understandable...we'll see that one soon! in the meantime, thanks for your reviews!

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><p><em>CHAPTER 2: PRIDE<em>

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><p>The first thing Elena felt was the tantalizing warmth of the sun's rays spreading over her skin. Her eyes snapped open to see a brilliant blue sky, so bright that she was momentarily disoriented.<p>

She then made an ungainly effort to scramble out of her beach chair, only to twist around in her panic and fall flat on her face onto the sandy ground.

"Well," a voice drawled from roughly six feet above her, "I usually brag about women throwing themselves at my feet…though I can't say it's _actually _ever happened before…"

A feeling of mortification slowly washing through her limbs, Elena made her way to her feet and glanced up at the man standing before her. She cleared her throat, "I…"

"And a pretty girl, too," he winked at her before raking his gaze obviously over her bikini-clad body, "Must be my lucky day."

Elena frowned and crossed her arms in front of her, "Don't flatter yourself. "

"Feisty," he grinned cockily and held his hand out to her, "Damon Salvatore."

_Ah, so he didn't know who she was in this world..._

"Elena," she shook his hand after a minute, his cool skin burning against hers. Her eyes widened slightly and she quickly pulled her hand away in what she hoped was a casual manner.

"Elena," Damon repeated, breathing the name out as though he was testing the sound of it in his voice. "I like it," he decided, a genuine smile finally crossing his features. "It means _light_, you know. Or sun…or the moon."

"I know," she responded distantly, "My parents were trying to have a daughter for a long time, so when they finally did, they said I was like a new light shining in their lives. So they named me Elena." The story rolled easily off her tongue—after all, it had been one of Jenna's favorite memories. Only now did Elena realize that every word must have been a lie.

"Are you okay?" Damon asked, "You seemed like you were off in another world for a moment there."

Elena began to answer when she happened to glance over his shoulder and see a small group of people approaching them. The words died on her lips and she could only stare as Stefan and Caroline walked towards them. Damon frowned at her expression and then turned around to see what was wrong. "So, you guys finally caught up," he said to them in a surprisingly cold voice, "Took you long enough."

"Who's your friend?" Caroline snapped back in a catty voice, looking up and down at Elena. "Not up to your usual standards, is she, Damon?"

"Excuse me?"

"You know how I tell you about the women that worship the ground I walk on?" Damon said arrogantly, "Well, I've found a new one."

Elena's mouth opened and closed several times at the absurdity of the conversation taking place in front of her. "_Excuse me_?" she asked again, this time making the anger in her voice clear. "It's rude to talk about someone as if they weren't standing right in front of you...or didn't your mother teach you any manners?"

"Our mother tried," Stefan said with a grin, "But she never succeeded." He moved around Damon so that he could shake hands with Elena, "I'm Stefan, by the way. Damon's brother."

"Yes," Damon said easily, "He's just like me, only..."

"Nicer," Stefan supplied, his green eyes sparkling under the sun with amusement, "I'm the nicer version."

"Sure," Damon shrugged, "And I'm the hotter version."

Elena had been running through the list of seven sins in her head, trying to figure out which one this trial was about...so far, the only impression that Damon was giving off was his arrogance, attitude, and self-confidence.

_Pride. _

"I don't know why you think that going around and telling people that you're _nice_ is gonna get you any girls, Stefan," Caroline was saying, her hands on her hips. "In case you missed the memo, girls like _bad boys_. It's, like, in their DNA or something."

"Not all girls," Stefan corrected, turning around slightly to look at someone. "Besides, what makes you think I'm looking for anyone?"

Elena followed his line of sight and her eyes widened in shock when she saw a familiar blonde-haired girl standing with the group of people that seemed to be the brothers' friends. "Oh please," Damon laughed, "Don't tell me that you and Lexi finally sealed the deal?"

Stefan looked flustered, "Well not yet, but—"

"Better move fast, little bro," Damon stared over at Lexi with a dangerous glint in his eye, "Before she decides that she wants someone else, instead."

Caroline huffed, shaking her head. "I'd be careful if I were you," she said to Elena, jerking her head in Damon's direction, "Now that you know what he's like." With that, she swung her bag over her shoulder, her hips sashaying as she made her way towards a dark-haired man in the group. "Come on, let's go," she said to him, "They'll catch up with us later."

As most of the group began walking down the beach, Elena noticed that it had been Tyler that Caroline was talking to. She also noticed that Lexi had stayed behind to wait for Stefan.

"Would it kill you to stay away from her?" Stefan asked in a low voice laced with frustration, "Lexi is mine, Damon."

"Not yet, she isn't," Damon smirked, "In fact, how much you want to bet that I can make her _mine _before the day is over?"

Stefan's eyes narrowed in warning, "Damon..."

"Hey," Elena interrupted, grabbing Damon's arm to distract him. She could tell by the desperate look in Stefan's eyes that he was afraid that Damon would pull through on his threat to go after Lexi.

And she was also beginning to get an idea of what the trial was.

"What is it?" Damon asked, looking down at where Elena's hand was wrapped around his wrist. "Jealous that I'm paying attention to another girl? News flash, _Elena_, I don't even know you. Lexi, on the other hand..."

"So, get to know me," Elena said boldly, "You can catch up to your friends later." Out of the corner of her eye, she saw the relief in Stefan's expression. He mouthed a quick 'thank-you' in her direction before hurriedly backing away and nearly dragging Lexi down the beach to put some distance between them.

Damon snorted under his breath as he turned to face Elena, "Feel sorry for Stefan, huh? You know I could've gotten Lexi without any effort...it would've served him right."

Elena took a seat, watching as Damon lay down beside her. "Is that why you wanted to go after her? You have some feud going on with your brother?"

"No, not really," he responded lightly, "I don't have anything against the kid."

"So, that means that you were going after Lexi just to prove that you could," Elena's mouth curled in distaste, "Some sort of male ego trip?"

Damon laughed and spread his arms wide, "Look at me, Elena—I can get _any _girl I want without even trying." He sat up slightly and rested his weight on his elbows so that he could look up at her, his eyes darkening even under the bright sun. "Even you," he added unnecessarily, "Believe it or not."

_So, all she had to do was take him down a peg or two...get him to show a little humility, modesty. _Elena sighed inwardly. _This was going to be difficult. _

"What makes you believe I don't have a boyfriend, Mr. Salvatore?" Elena nonchalantly took a sip of the drink sitting next to her, the alcohol leaving a sweet taste on her tongue.

"Doesn't matter," Damon dismissed, "Whoever he is, I guarantee that I'm better."

_Very difficult._

"I doubt it," she responded, pretending to be bored as she stood up and stretched. "Your brother was right, you know. Not every girl likes the bad boy." She glanced down at him and raised an eyebrow, "Especially if the guy is a jackass." She began walking away, hoping that her plan was working.

"Elena—wait."

She smiled to herself before quickly masking her expression and turning around to face him, "Yes?"

Damon stood up and brushed the sand off his legs before striding up to her, a seductive smile playing across his lips. "I would hate for you to get the wrong idea of me," he purred, "Why don't you walk with me for a bit? Give me a chance to change your mind?"

Elena shrugged, but let him fall into step with her as they made their way down the beach silently. "So," she prompted after several minutes, "Have you always been this way?"

"Why?" he deflected her question and smirked at her, "Trying to figure out the real me?" She didn't answer, her eyes alighting instead on a familiar group of people playing volleyball ahead of them. "And he still hasn't made his move," Damon said, pointing to where Stefan was standing—nowhere near Lexi. "You see what I have to deal with?"

"Well maybe you should help him out," Elena suggested, "You sure have more than enough..._charm_...to go around."

"Sorry, Elena," Damon said flatly, "I don't know what picture you've painted in that pretty little head of yours, but I'm not the good guy." They had both stopped walking at this point, and were watching the progress of the volleyball game in front of them. The two sides appeared to be evenly matched, but Elena could tell that the teams were playing more for the fun of it than actual sport.

Caroline suddenly squealed as Tyler went barreling into her in his attempt to hit the ball, and they both tumbled down onto the sand. "You did that on purpose!" Caroline laughed, straddling Tyler playfully and reaching down for a kiss. "They're together?" Elena asked Damon, her brow furrowing. "Only, she seemed a little...overprotective of you when I met her before."

"We used to go out," Damon replied airily, "Now we're best friends." At Elena's look of disbelief, he grinned, "She doesn't put up with my shit. I respect that." Then he leaned towards her conspiratorially, "Stefan wanted her, too...but I got to her first."

"You're kidding," Elena snapped, "Why would you do that?"

"Because he makes it so easy." He looked away from Elena then, his gaze focusing on Lexi. "Excuse me a moment, will you? I'll be right back."

Elena quickly looked between Damon and Lexi, anxiety making her voice rise an octave higher than normal. "Damon...you don't have to be _that _guy. Maybe it's _in _you to be good...you just haven't realized it yet."

Damon shook her off, giving her a weird look as he walked away. Elena blew out a breath of air and crossed her arms as she watched him flash his signature grin at Lexi and begin speaking to her. Unfortunately, they were both out of hearing range.

"Thanks for trying." Elena turned around to see that Stefan had materialized at her side, his gaze also trained on Damon and Lexi. He shaded his eyes, "But my brother always gets what he wants...no matter who he has to trample to get there."

"Why do you let him get away with it?" Elena scowled, "Maybe you should just stand up to him for once in your life."

Stefan gaped at her.

"Uh, I mean..." Elena flushed, "I'm sorry. That was out of line."

"How did you say you knew Damon, again?"

Elena pursed her lips as she watched Damon lean in towards Lexi and whisper something in her ear. "I don't," she responded stiffly, "I don't know him at all. Would you excuse me?" Before Stefan could respond, she turned on her heel and stomped away.

As she kept walking back across the beach, she could feel her irritation growing. _This spell was so unfair—how was she supposed to _guide_ Damon when this version of him had no sense of morality at all? _

By the time she reached her things, the sun had nearly set on the horizon and she was angrily stuffing her towel into her large beach bag when a sudden paralyzing thought hit her—_was there a time limit to the spell? Was she supposed to help him pass the test before midnight or something? _She sat back on her heels and covered her face with her hands, trying to think. _What was she supposed to do_?

"Elena?"

She jumped, whirling around to see Damon standing behind her. His hands were shoved in his pockets and he looked at her questioningly, "Why'd you take off like that?"

Elena stood up, peering around him in an exaggerated motion. "Done with Lexi already?" She raised an eyebrow at him, "That was fast. Guess I underestimated the skills of the great Damon Salvatore."

He looked taken aback for a moment before he shook his head. "I didn't do what you think I did. I only talked to her to...well, to give her a little push in Stefan's direction." Damon grinned and sat down on the sand next to Elena, "Last I saw, they were heading off somewhere together. I think it worked."

Elena blinked, "Oh." She sat down next to him, looking at him thoughtfully. "What changed your mind?"

He glanced at her, appearing to choose his words carefully. "Let's just say that I saw the _light_," he said finally, smirking as he nudged her shoulder. Elena rolled her eyes, recognizing the play on her name.

"I'm glad," she smiled slightly, watching as the sun disappeared into the water. "I told you that you could be the good guy."

She turned to look at him and he shot her a grin, "Would you be surprised if I told you that no one has ever said that to me before?"

Elena laughed, "Nope. Not surprised at all."

Damon stared at her for a moment, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. He leaned closer then, watching her expression almost warily. "Thank you, Elena," he murmured, and she closed her eyes as she felt his cool lips brush against her cheek.

Then, abruptly, she felt a force knock into her and she let out a scream as she hurtled backwards into nothingness.

.

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><p>She hit the ground hard, coughing as she spat dirt out of her mouth. She clambered to her feet, stopping in horror when she looked down at what she was wearing. A horse-drawn carriage plodded along in front of her, running over a discarded newspaper lying in the middle of the dirt-paved road.<p>

Elena hurriedly ran over to pick it up, letting her skirts trail carelessly over the dusty ground_. _She ignored the headline, choosing instead to look for the date.

_November 3, 1864._

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><p><strong>*yup, trial #2 takes place in TVD's favorite flashback year- 1864 ;) <strong>


	3. Envy

**A/N: **haha glad everyone liked the throwback to Season 1's version of Damon in the last chapter! this chapter Elena gets to deal with his 1864-self ;) enjoy!

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><p><em>CHAPTER 3: ENVY<em>

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><p>Elena let the newspaper fall from her hands, feeling extremely out of place.<p>

1864.

_She was so screwed. _

Elena began walking, without having any clear idea of where exactly she was going. Fortunately, however, her feet carried her along—as though she had some predetermined destination in mind.

Soon enough, she found herself strolling down a small dirt path towards an elegant white mansion, enclosed between two large columns. As she stared at the building, Elena discerned that the people who lived there were clearly wealthy. Then, somehow, she realized what she was looking at: The Salvatore Estate.

She took one more step forward when suddenly she heard a voice behind her, followed by the sound of someone running. "Miss Katherine!"

Elena froze, dread filling the pit of her stomach. She couldn't believe she had been so stupid as to forget that Katherine would here, too—how on Earth was she going to explain her presence to these people? From what Damon and Stefan had told her, the townspeople of this time period had a strong hatred for the unexplainable…and it certainly didn't get more supernatural than doppelgangers…

"Miss Katherine," someone grabbed her arm, and Elena turned around with a gasp to see a young girl standing in front of her. She had dark skin and wide eyes that seemed much wiser beyond her years.

"Uh," Elena stammered, "Yes?"

"What happened to you?" the girl asked, fussing over the state of Elena's dress. "The Founder's Ball is tonight—I've been looking everywhere for you!"

"I…um…" she could feel her cheeks heat in embarrassment, "I was just…"

The girl's gaze suddenly sharpened as she examined Elena's expression. After a moment, she said slowly, "You seem a bit confused, _Miss Katherine_. It is I, your handmaiden. Emily."

"Emily," Elena breathed in understanding, "Yes, yes, of course. I'm afraid that I…spent too long in the sun and am a bit disoriented. Perhaps I could…rest?"

Emily continued staring at her, and Elena was suddenly absolutely certain of the fact that this girl _knew _that she wasn't Katherine.

"I'm afraid there is no time for you to rest," Emily answered in a careful voice, "You must get ready for tonight. "

"Oh, yes, you're right," she agreed hastily, "Ah, the ball is at the Lockwood mansion, right?"

"It is."

"Great," Elena said weakly, following behind Emily as they walked towards the house. Once they got to the doorway, however, Emily moved to the side respectfully. "Is something wrong?"

"You must walk ahead," Emily said meaningfully, "Miss Katherine."

"Oh…okay," Elena said awkwardly, stepping hesitantly into the house. Luckily, no one seemed to be around, and she turned quickly to glance back at Emily. "Should I go upstairs?"

"Yes, your dress has been laid out for you in your bedchamber. I shall help you get ready before the carriage arrives for you and Mr. Salvatore."

Elena bit her lip but didn't reply as she did her best to gracefully ascend the staircase. Once they were fully upstairs, Emily slid past her to push open a door into what was presumably Katherine's bedroom.

"Wow," Elena murmured under her breath when she caught sight of the dusky blue dress lying across her bed, "That's…beautiful."

"Yes, you do have good taste," Emily smiled at her for the first time, "Wait here. I'll run you a bath."

Elena nodded numbly and sat down onto the soft bed, fingering the dress absentmindedly. _Hmm, it looked like the real Katherine wasn't here at all…but how was she supposed to play the part of Katherine Pierce when she had no idea how to act? _

Emily hadn't been gone more than two minutes when there was a knock on her bedroom door. Elena stood up in a panic, wondering who it was.

"Katherine—I _know _you're in there," Damon called, sounding slightly desperate. "Please, I just wish to speak to you!"

Elena could feel her heart pounding and she hurried towards the adjoining room that Katherine's handmaiden had disappeared into. "Emily," she hissed urgently, tapping lightly on the door, "I need your help!"

The water quieted and Emily stepped out, looking puzzled. When Damon pounded on the bedroom door again, her expression cleared. "Would you like me to tell him you are busy?"

"Wh-what? No, no…I just…" she stumbled over her words, "I was wondering if it was appropriate for him to visit me in Kath—I mean, in _my _bedchambers?"

Emily met her gaze steadily, "May I remind you, Miss Katherine, that _both _of the Salvatore men have been your bedchambers before…as well as _in _your bed."

Elena flushed.

"I'll let him in," Emily said not unkindly, "But I will inform him that you are already pressed for time." She touched Elena's arm briefly, "Do not worry. I will be waiting at the end of the hall."

"Yes, that would be appreciated. Thank you, Emily." Elena watched as the girl opened the door and spoke quietly to Damon before allowing him into the room. Emily sent Elena one warning glance before shutting the door firmly behind her.

"Katherine," Damon's eyes widened in concern, "What has happened to your dress?"

Elena looked down at the dress she was wearing—the one that she had trailed carelessly in the mud and rocks on her way to the Salvatore Estate. She shrugged, keeping a calm demeanor. "Nothing that can't be fixed," she responded, taking a step backwards so that she had a full view of this Damon. The human Damon.

_'You should have met me in 1864. I think you would have liked me.'  
><em>

It was the cruelest twist of fate that Damon's last words had come back in this manner, and Elena found herself balking at the significance of it.

Damon looked distracted and he abruptly moved towards her so that he could take one of her hands within his own. "I don't understand," he whispered, "Why did you pick my brother to escort you instead of me?"

"Your..." Elena could feel herself floundering, "You mean to the Founder's Ball?"

"Yes," Damon said fervently, "Why Stefan? Why not me?"

_He was jealous_, Elena realized. _Envy._

She looked at the lovelorn expression on his face and found herself unable to answer. "There will be other events, Damon," she said faintly, "This is just one of many."

"But tonight you will be on _his _arm, and not mine," Damon said insistently, "Tell me, what can Stefan offer you that I cannot?"

She swallowed nervously, remembering Katherine's sentiments. '_It's okay to love them both...I did.'_

Elena cleared her throat, "I care for you both equally, Damon. I just..."

"But you _prefer_ Stefan," he remarked dejectedly, "Why?"

At that moment, there was another knock on the door and Emily stuck her head in. "I apologize for interrupting, Miss Katherine, but time is running short. I must still run your bath, do your hair, your makeup—"

"That's fine," Elena broke in, "Mr. Salvatore was just leaving." Emily nodded and slipped past them to finish drawing the water for the bath. Elena led Damon back to the door and dropped her voice to a whisper. "I'm sorry," she said sincerely, "I did not wish to hurt you by asking your brother to escort me to the ball."

Damon still looked downcast, but his eyes lit up as a sudden idea came to him. "At least let me meet you afterwards?"

"What?"

"Yes," he said excitedly, "Stefan may get to have you for the evening...but I shall have you at night."

Elena's mouth dropped open. _Weren't people from the 19th century supposed to be less...forward? _

"It is settled, then," he reached out for her hand again and quickly brushed a kiss over it, "Until tonight, my lady."

She shut the door behind him and then rested her head against it, closing her eyes. _What had she gotten herself into_?

.

The Founder's Ball was as disastrous as Elena had imagined it would be. Between Stefan's constant stream of compliments and the fact that Damon spent the entire evening glowering at them from the corner of the room, Elena was ready for the night to end even before it began.

"You look simply breathtaking, Katherine," Stefan murmured as they circled around one another. "I cannot believe my good fortune that you chose me to escort you tonight." He glanced over his shoulder at Damon, "Though, my brother is still upset at your decision."

Elena made a noncommittal noise.

"Are you feeling alright?" Stefan looked concerned, his brow furrowing, "I hope you are not regretting choosing me instead of Damon?"

"No," Elena responded stiffly, "I am simply tired, is all." She looked at him hopefully, "Would you mind if we took a short break?"

"Of course," Stefan bowed slightly—ever the true gentleman. "Would you like me to find you something to drink?"

"I can find it myself," Elena said quickly, feeling an odd sense of claustrophobia as she pushed Stefan's hands off her. "I just need some air. Thank you." She did her best to hurry out of the house, which was difficult in large part due to her heavy skirts and restraining corset. _Honestly, how did these women breathe? _

It was quiet outside and Elena let out a small sigh of relief. The scene inside had been uncomfortable and keeping up the charade was proving to be more difficult than she had thought. She just couldn't understand Stefan—he claimed to hate dancing in the 21st century, yet he was more than happy to dance the night away with _Katherine_. And with the real Katherine being MIA, there was no way that Stefan was being compelled...yet he hadn't stopped complimenting her hair, her dress, or trying to kiss her the entire night.

"Have you grown weary of my brother's company already?"

Elena whirled around to see Damon standing behind her, a knowing look in his eye. "Mr. Salvatore," she said formally, her gaze darting back and forth to ascertain that they really were alone. "What are you doing out here?"

"I followed you," he said with boyish innocence as he stepped closer to her and gently rested his hands on her shoulders. "You should have chosen me to escort you, Katherine," he said huskily, "I would have given you a night to remember."

Inexplicably, Elena felt close to tears. _So_, _t__his was the real Damon—sweet, sincere, caring...untainted by Katherine's betrayal. _

"Katherine?" Damon looked horrified, "You are crying..." He stumbled backwards, "I did this to you...it's my fault..."

"No," Elena reached out to him, grasping his arm tightly. "Please, don't go. I am merely upset because I have unintentionally hurt you." She took a deep breath, "Damon, I beg of you...There is no need to be envious of your brother. Y-you are..." She broke off there, the gnawing feeling in her throat growing from holding back her tears. "Any woman would be lucky to be courted by you," she finally managed to say, her voice a mere whisper.

Damon was looking at her strangely, seemingly bewildered. "Katherine?" He frowned as he examined her expression, and the bafflement grew across his face, "Katherine?"

"Yes?"

He shook his head, still looking confused. "You are...different," he murmured, stepping closer to her and cupping her face gently. "You seem almost like...a different person."

"Maybe I am," Elena agreed softly, gazing up at him. "I wish for you to find someone who will give you her whole heart, Damon. That is what you deserve."

His expression didn't change as he took one more step forward, looping his arms around her waist to draw her even closer. When they were mere inches apart, Elena's lips parted subconsciously as he leaned down to kiss her. To her surprise, he pulled back within seconds. "You're not her," Damon sounded awestruck, "Who are you?"

_Damn._

"Just remember what I told you," she said desperately, "There is a woman for you out there_—_someone who will choose you, and _only _you."

"Katherine!" Elena turned around to see Stefan standing at the doorway, his jaw clenched. "I've been looking everywhere for you...What's the matter?"

"Nothing," she said quickly, feeling the tension escalate between the two brothers. "Truly, I was just about to go back inside."

"I hope my brother was not taking advantage of your courteous nature," Stefan said, his gaze flitting between the pair. "Are you alright?"

Elena opened her mouth to answer, but it was Damon who intervened. "I was simply on my way back to the estate when I saw Katherine standing out here. She was kind enough to keep me company while I waited for a carriage." He turned to her and bowed, "I apologize if I have taken up too much of your time, my lady."

"N-no," she stammered, "No problem, at all."

"I shouldn't have sought your company tonight when you have been escorted here by someone else." Damon looked up at Stefan, "Do you forgive me, brother?"

Stefan's expression relaxed, "Yes, of course. Think nothing of it." He held his arm out to Elena, "Ready to go back inside?"

Elena looked back over at Damon, but he merely nodded his head at her. "Have a good night, Katherine. I will see you in the morning."

She smiled, recognizing the shift in his attitude. "Thank you, Damon," she curtsied, "Have a good night, yourself." Then she gracefully took Stefan's arm and walked back into the Lockwood mansion.

As she entered the doorway, the light suddenly became so blinding that she was forced to throw her hands in front of her face as a shield. It grew brighter and brighter until she was completely surrounded and she felt a familiar force pulling her away.

* * *

><p><strong>*aw I love 1864-Human-Damon :) there are five sins left: wrath, greed, sloth, lust, and gluttony. as some of you guessed, the trials WILL be getting harder =P <strong>


	4. Greed

**A/N: **yup, Damon being the one to recognize that "Katherine" was different while Stefan remained clueless: completely intentional ;)

* * *

><p><em>CHAPTER 4: GREED<em>

* * *

><p>When the blinding light receded, it took Elena several moments to get her bearings. Once the jolt of being pulled into new surroundings had faded, she blinked and slowly spun around on the spot to take in the view.<p>

She was standing in an expensive looking kitchen, filled with shiny state-of-the-art appliances. Elena was just wrapping her head around the fact that she had apparently been popped back into the 21st century when the kitchen door swung open and Bonnie hurried in, looking frazzled.

"Elena!" she hissed, "What are you still doing here? You know how Mr. Salvatore gets when he's forced to stay with _them _too long!"

"Huh?"

"The drinks!" Bonnie jabbed a finger at the tray sitting on the countertop, "Take them out there!"

Elena stared at the tray and then happened to look down at what she was wearing: a maid's outfit.

_Oh god…did she work for Damon? _

"Hurry!" Bonnie ushered at her urgently, "The sooner those business partners of his are out of here, the better!"

"Yes, of course," Elena tentatively lifted the tray in her arms and sidled cautiously out the door. It wasn't that she didn't have waitress experience (she had worked at the Grill during her freshman year), but she could feel her nervousness blow into full effect as she stepped out of the kitchen.

The dining hall that she entered was exquisite. A table that could easily seat fifteen people stood in the exact center of the room, covered with a gorgeous red velvet table cloth and fancy China that Elena knew she would never be able to afford. It appeared that dinner had just finished—some sort of catering service was currently occupied with clearing off the dishes.

Elena was wondering where exactly she was supposed to be taking the drinks when she heard raucous laughter coming from an adjoining room. Taking a deep breath, she strode confidently across the hall and let herself into what looked like some kind of lounge area.

Immediately, all the voices ceased and heads swiveled around to look up at her. Elena's eyes widened as her gaze darted around the room, recognizing all five of the men seated there. Damon, who was sitting in the corner, spread his arms out dramatically. "_Finally! _Don't you know it's a crime to keep a man from his alcohol?"

She took a deep breath and stiffly walked towards him, holding the tray out. Once he had taken a glass, he gestured for her to serve the rest of the people in the room. Elena determinately didn't make eye contact with the person sitting to Damon's right: Mason Lockwood.

"Wow," Mason smirked appreciatively as Elena bent down slightly in front of him, "Remember, Elena, if you're ever looking to switch employers..."

"I have a loyal staff, Lockwood," Damon raised his glass in Mason's direction, "So your little tricks won't work."

Elena glared at Mason as he ran his gaze over her body again, and she stomped over to the next person—who happened to be Elijah. Unlike the two men before him, he treated her to a genuine smile. "Thank you," he said graciously as he selected a glass off the tray. "By the way," he gently touched her arm as she began to move away, "Elena, you are looking especially beautiful tonight."

"Hands off the help, Elijah," Damon called out, watching the scene shrewdly. "She's here to do her job; that's it."

"Yes, we know," Elijah glanced up at her with an amused twinkle in his eye, "That doesn't mean I can't give credit where credit's due."

Elena smiled back, relaxing slightly as she turned towards the last two gentlemen in the room: Matt and Tyler. Unlike everyone else, these two were sitting somewhat separated from Damon. She had the feeling that perhaps they weren't as high up the ladder in Damon's company or business or whatever he was running.

Once the tray was cleared, Elena quickly whirled on her heel and slipped out of the room. Exhausted, she took a seat at the dining table and slumped over, trying to think. _From the familiar way that both Elijah and Mason had greeted her, it would appear that she had been working for Damon for quite some time...but what was this trial about? _

"Hey," Damon suddenly appeared before her, taking a seat across from her at the dining table. "What's the matter with you?"

Startled, Elena could only stare at him. "I...didn't hear you come in, Mr. Salvatore," she finally said in a polite voice, "Forgive me, I was just resting my—"

"Cut the bullshit," he leaned towards her, his eyes narrowing. "Is this about tomorrow? You're getting cold feet about the plan?"

"Um..."

Damon drew out an exaggerated breath. "Honestly, Elena. I only chose you to do this because you've been one of my most loyal workers for the past three years now...I wouldn't have asked you if I didn't have complete faith in your abilities to pull it off."

Elena tried to nod in agreement.

He rolled his eyes at her expression and pushed a glass of wine in her direction. She gratefully took a sip as he continued, "Look, it's really not a big deal. When my brother gets here tomorrow with his lawyers, all you have to do is seduce him—"

She choked, sputtering, "Ex-excuse me?"

"What?" Damon looked annoyed, "You agreed to the plan before, Elena...there's no backing out now. Just convince him to not sign those papers...then when I have full control of the company, I'll be able to cut him out once and for all." He leaned back in his seat, a ruthless edge taking control of his voice. "Stefan will have nothing, and I'll have it all."

Elena gaped at him in disbelief.

"I should be getting back," Damon jerked his head towards the lounge, "I'll go get rid of them. Stick around so I can give you the dress for tomorrow." He nodded to her and disappeared into the next room, apparently not noticing the look on her face.

Bonnie found her ten minutes later, sitting in the same spot. "Elena? What's wrong? Did something happen with Mr. Salvatore?"

"His brother..." Elena began, but then stopped. "I..."

"Oh yes, _Stefan _is visiting us tomorrow," Bonnie said, pursing her lips in distaste. "Is the plan still on, then?" When Elena nodded wordlessly, Bonnie reached over and patted her hand in a reassuring manner. "Don't worry, Elena. You'll do fine. You're smart, pretty, assertive—just the sort of woman that Stefan would fall for." She grinned maliciously, "And when the plan works, Stefan will be left with not a cent to his name. And Damon will finally have everything he's worked so hard for. About time, am I right?"

_Wow, apparently no one around here liked Stefan..._

Elena bit her lip, wondering how to find out what had happened without sounding too suspicious. "Is that really fair, though?" she ventured, "I mean, they're still brothers...and in the end, isn't family the only thing that really matters?"

"Honey, please. After everything that Stefan's done? He deserves to be left with nothing."

"But—"

"Besides," Bonnie continued with a shrug, "This is _Damon _we're talking about. He won't rest until he has it all...you know what he's like." She began to say something else, but the door from the lounge opened at that moment and Damon himself walked in. "Mr. Salvatore," Bonnie greeted, "Have our _guests _left the building?"

"Yes, finally," Damon shook his head and tossed back whatever alcohol he was holding in his hand. "I really can't stand any of them," he added in an offhand voice. "Well anyway," he looked at Elena, "Come along to my office when you're done. We can discuss the plans for tomorrow."

After he left, Bonnie turned to Elena with a smile. "Come on," she held her hand out, "Let's go downstairs and get you cleaned up. You're probably in for a_ long_ night."

.

It turned out that Damon apparently lived in some sort of luxury apartment complex. Elena learned that she and Bonnie were the live-in maids, but there were several other staff members that lived there as well. They each had their own floor on lower levels of the building, and Elena had to stifle a gasp as she walked into her own richly decorated 'home.'

"Just take a hot shower and grab some caffeine," Bonnie advised from the doorway, "And let me know if you need help with anything, alright?"

Elena agreed, and spent the next ten minutes exploring her place. Nothing in it (furniture, gadgets, or clothes) seemed exactly her style, and she had a feeling that Damon had probably hand-picked every single object in his building.

With a sigh, she came to the conclusion that this trial was going to be harder than the others. Damon had everything, and yet he wanted more—_and_ he willing to cast his brother aside like a rag doll in order to get what he wanted.

_Greed._

It wasn't until one hour later that she let herself back into Damon's apartment. Everything was eerily silent, and most of the lights had been switched off.

All except one.

She made her way towards the door that she had previously not noticed and knocked on it timidly. Damon pulled it open almost immediately, though he looked distracted. "Oh good, you're here," he waved her into the black leather sofa in the corner of his office.

Elena sat down on it, feeling herself sink down into its rather intimidating cushions. "You...wanted to speak to me?"

He nodded, reaching for a large white box on his desk and handing it to her. "That's what I want you to wear tomorrow when you meet Stefan." As she began opening it, Damon seemed to look at her clearly for the first time since she had walked in. "You look comfortable," he remarked, eyeing her sweatpants and purple tank top. "Not going out tonight, then?"

She frowned in confusion, "No." He only shrugged, appearing to lose interest in the subject. Elena finished pushing the tissue wrappings aside and eventually pulled out a strapless silk turquoise dress. It looked expensive, and _extremely _formfitting. "Wow, I..."

"You'll look hot in it," Damon interrupted, "Which is just the effect we're going for. My stylist, Caroline, will be here at 6 AM sharp to do your hair and makeup. Will that be a problem?" He didn't wait for her answer. "Great. Stefan will get here around 11 AM. I'll convince him that the deals should be drawn up and signed after dinner. In the meantime, I want you to offer to show him around town. My driver will take you wherever you want to go."

"But what if Stefan—"

"_Elena_," Damon loosened his tie as he finally took a seat next to her. "I know you can do this," he said in a softer voice, reaching over to place a hand over hers. "My brother may be smart, but _you're _smarter. You know his weaknesses—namely, that he tends to indulge in a beautiful woman from time to time."

She narrowed her eyes, recognizing that his tone had become bitter and angry. Elena bit her lip, hoping she wasn't pushing her luck. "Like he did to you?" she hedged, "That's why you're doing this to him?"

"Yes, of course because of what he did to me!" Damon snapped. "I worked hard for everything I have—and this company should have been _mine _10 years ago. But he played me with Katherine...and I lost everything for that bitch." He stood up abruptly, "And I know that no one out there in the business world understands why I _still _want this company even though I have money to burn...but you understand, don't you?"

Elena did her best to look supportive.

Damon apparently bought the act because he flashed a rare grin at her. "I knew I could count on you, Elena." Then his expression sobered, "Just remember, I want you to seduce him.._not _sleep with him, alright?"

"Oh," she nearly sagged with relief, "You don't?"

He frowned, "Of course not! You know I would never do that to you!" He looked disgusted, "Geez, Elena, I'm your boss not your pimp."

The way he said it sounded so ridiculous that Elena laughed out loud. "Well there's a sentence I thought I'd never hear you say," she quipped.

Damon shook his head, even as the corners of his mouth tugged upwards with amusement. He glanced over at the digital clock on his wall before turning back to Elena, "Okay, it's nearly midnight. Why don't you go change into that dress and we'll work on your skills for about an hour or so?"

She stared at him blankly, not comprehending, "I'm sorry, what?"

"Your seduction skills...hello?" Damon looked impatient, "You've been out of it all day, Elena, seriously."

"You..." she squeaked, "You want me to...practice...seducing _you_?"

"Yes, how else is the plan going to work tomorrow on my brother?" Damon rolled his eyes, pulling her into a standing position and placing the dress firmly in her hands. "We don't have all day, Elena. Hurry up and go change so we can get started."

Elena walked out of the office in a daze. _Apparently Bonnie had been right—it was going to be a long night, after all. _

* * *

><p><strong>*let me just say that I thoroughly enjoyed writing that cliffhanger =P haha so this trial will be a 2-parter since it was necessary to explain Damon's attitude in the first half. Next chapter we'll see if Elena is able to persuade him out of what he's planning ;) <strong>


	5. Greed: Part II

**A/N: **this chapter picks up right where the last one left off ;)

* * *

><p><em>GREED: PART II<em>

* * *

><p>When Elena walked back into Damon's office, she knew that she looked ridiculous. The dress itself was amazing, but her hair was tied into a messy bun, she had no makeup or jewelry—and she was wearing fluffy purple slippers on her feet.<p>

Damon, however, only glanced up briefly from his desk. "I told you that you'd look hot," was all he said, putting down his pen and standing up. "Ready?"

"Save it, Damon," Elena huffed, "I know I look like a train wreck."

"Modesty," he nodded approvingly, "Good tactic. Stefan will love that. What else you got?"

"Wha—that wasn't a _tactic_," she said helplessly, feeling very much out of her league as Damon casually took a seat on the edge of his desk so that he was facing her. "You know, maybe this isn't such a good idea..."

"Okay, first of all," Damon interrupted calmly, "Take a deep breath." When Elena obliged, he continued. "Second, remember that I'm here as your_ friend..._not your employer," he shrugged, "In fact, you're supposed to be pretending that _I'm_ Stefan so technically we don't even know each other. Alright? Feel better?"

_No._

Elena sighed, mentally preparing herself for what she was about to do. Maybe if she played along with this charade, she'd be able to convince him that he didn't need to go through with this plan; that he didn't have to stoop down to Stefan's level.

With this in mind, she walked over to him, trying to mimic the way that Caroline often sashayed up to guys that she was interested in. Damon raised an eyebrow as his gaze drifted to her hips momentarily before looking back up at her with an impassive expression.

"Hi," Elena said brightly, holding out a hand towards him. "You must be Stefan...Damon has told me _so _much about you."

Damon hid a grin and shook hands with her jovially, "Has he now? Only good things, I hope?"

"Of course," she smiled as she briskly brushed the shoulders of his suit, pretending to admire the fit of it. "You must have had a long flight," she went on, her hand lingering on his arm for a tad longer than was strictly necessary, "Is there anything that I can get you?"

He glanced down at her hand before flashing her a grin, "My brother didn't tell me there would be such a _welcoming _reception. If I had known, then I would've visited _years _ago."

Elena played right along and leaned forward slightly, "I think I would've enjoyed that."

Surprise flickered across Damon's face.

She smirked at him and then moved across the room to his liquor cabinet. "How about I get us something to drink?" she offered, pulling out a bottle of wine. Damon watched in silence as Elena strode back over to the desk and expertly poured two glasses. Then she held one out to him, her lips curving upwards, "Can I tempt you?"

He took the glass without looking at it, his eyes darkening as he picked up on the double meaning behind her words. "I think you already are," he muttered under his breath. He then shook his head to clear it, "You said your name was Elena? How long have you been working for my brother?"

"Three years," Elena replied promptly, perching herself on the edge of his desk so that their arms brushed tantalizingly against one another. She could feel the heat radiating off his body and had to compose herself before continuing. "When was the last time you saw him?"

Damon's gaze was fixated upon a spot on the floor. "Four years," he answered in an oddly strained voice, "I guess that explains why I've never met you."

Elena studied his expression for a minute before placing a hand over his wrist, "You haven't tasted the wine yet, Mr. Salvatore_._"

His posture relaxed as he grinned at her, "Trying to get me drunk, Miss Elena?"

"Not at all," she purposefully crossed her legs as she took a sip from her own glass, smiling to herself when she saw Damon glance at her before quickly looking away. "So," she drawled, "Your brother tells me that you're here to make some sort of business deal?"

Damon nodded and turned back to her, apparently glad to be back on subject. "That's right. When these papers get signed, this company will be half mine and half his. Just the way that our father always intended it to be."

_Okay, now was the part where she was supposed to convince "Stefan" not to make the deal. _Elena hesitated, thinking. _But maybe she could convince Damon, too..._

"Hmm," she considered, tilting her head. "But where's the fun in owning the family business?" She let her voice drop as she stood up and carefully placed her now-empty wine glass on the desk before shifting so that she was standing directly in front of Damon. "I'd say it would be much more _impressive _to go out there and build your own business from the ground up..." Elena placed a hand on Damon's chest, giving him a coy smile, "Don't you think?"

He blinked several times, looking like he was trying to regain control of the situation. "You make a good point, Elena, but—" He broke off when she slid her weight forward and his knees parted instinctively until she was positioned directly between them. Damon's gaze flicked to her lips, which were inches away from his own. He cleared his throat, "As I was saying..."

Elena slid a hand around his neck, drawing herself even closer. "Do we really have to say any more?" she murmured, leaning towards him until her lips brushed once against his. Damon wasn't aware of when exactly he stood up and wrapped one arm around her waist while his other arm snaked upwards to tangle in her hair, nor was he aware of when exactly he deepened the kiss, their tongues dueling for dominance.

It was only when they were both stumbling backwards and Elena let out a gasp as her back hit the door that he realized what was happening. Damon drew back sharply and nearly groaned out loud when he caught sight of her flushed face. "Oh god—I am _so _sorry, Elena—I didn't...I don't know what—"

"Hey," she cut him off, a smile on her lips, "Does this mean that my seduction skills pass the test?"

"What?" Damon ran a hand over his face, willing himself to snap out of whatever stupor he was in. "Yeah," he managed to say, "Your skills are definitely...yeah. It'll work for tomorrow."

"Great," Elena opened the door and called over her shoulder, "Have a good night, Mr. Salvatore."

.

The next day went off without a hitch. Elena had been unable to fall asleep after the events of the previous night, so she was already wide awake by the time Caroline showed up at her door (6 AM sharp, as Damon had promised). Being a stylist was apparently Caroline's true calling, as she prattled on about skin tones and eye creams and how to "accessorize."

Elena walked into Damon's apartment at 10:30 AM, wanting to be early to prepare herself for Stefan's arrival. The place was bustling with activity, and more than one person stopped dead in their tracks as they laid eyes on her.

"Oh my god!" Bonnie rushed over to Elena, "You look amazing! That dress—those heels—_how _are you walking in those?"

"With extreme difficulty," Elena admitted, glancing down at her silver stilettos. The turquoise dress fit her like a glove, hugging her curves in all the right places—as Caroline had told her repeatedly. Her hair had been curled elaborately and rested on her shoulders, framed by sparkling diamond earrings. "How long until Stefan gets here?"

"Oh, you haven't heard? His flight landed an hour early, so he's already here," Bonnie lowered her voice to a whisper, "We showed him to the guest room upstairs...you can go on up, if you're ready."

Elena hesitated before straightening her shoulders, "As ready as I'll ever be. Where's Damon?"

"Out," Bonnie shrugged as she hurried to get back to work, "Good luck!"

"Thanks," Elena muttered as she made her way through the rooms, searching for a staircase that would lead her to the guest room. Five minutes later, she finally found it.

And Stefan was walking down the stairs at the same time.

He stopped when he saw her, a smirk crossing his lips. "Ah, so my brother brought out the prized jewel for my visit. How considerate."

"Mr. Salvatore," she greeted smoothly, "My name is Elena. I hope your flight went well. Did you get a chance to freshen up?"

"I did," Stefan leapt down the final few stairs, catching her off guard. For some reason, she had expected him to be another version of Damon (designer suits, refined attitude, expensive taste), but the younger Salvatore seemed surprisingly down-to-earth. "I had a _very _refreshing shower," he added, "Though it would've been even better if _you _had joined me..."

Elena didn't let this faze her. "Perhaps next time," she leaned casually against the banister, "How about I take you out on a little trip around town instead?"

Stefan's gaze grew serious, "Sorry, Elena. I'm strictly here on business. Where's Damon?"

"He'll be back soon. At least let me give you a tour of the apartment while you wait for him?"

Stefan eventually agreed, though he looked displeased. As Elena led him through all the rooms, he barely commented and she even caught him glance at his watch once or twice along the way. "And here we have the library," she announced, arriving at the well-maintained room that looked eerily like the library back at the Salvatore boarding house.

For the first time, Stefan looked interested as he strode across the room to examine the books. "My brother and I have always shared a love for literature," he informed her, sliding a book from the shelf and flipping through the pages. "Do you like to read?"

"I do," Elena held a hand out invitingly towards the plush armchairs, and was gratified when he sat down next to her and listened attentively while she went on to talk about her favorite books.

"I'm impressed," he said after they had talked at some length about Shakespeare. "Forgive me, Elena. I thought that Damon had only hired you to distract me from making this business deal. But it is obvious that is not the case." He looked at her seriously, "You are clearly an intelligent woman...and I hope you'll stay on with the company even after I take part ownership."

Her smile faltered—something that Stefan noticed.

He leaned back in his chair, "Ah, but I'm sure Damon has painted me as the villain of the story?"

"Er, Katherine..."

"Played us both," Stefan's voice was harsh, "I made a mistake, and I know that Damon lost everything because of me...but I lost a lot too, Elena."

She chewed on her lip, "So you're not with her anymore?"

"With Katherine?" he laughed bitterly, "No, that's been over for a long time. She moved on to the next best opportunity, and I was left with nothing. Just like Damon."

Elena frowned, "If there's so much bad blood between you two then why are you trying to make this deal? Wouldn't it be better to leave well enough alone?"

Stefan considered her for a moment, "Do you have a brother, Elena?"

Startled, she answered truthfully before she could stop herself. "Yes, I do. A younger brother."

He nodded, looking away from her. "And have you ever had an argument with him—and I don't mean something petty and insignificant—I mean a _real _fight...Something that you thought neither of you would ever walk away from? Something unforgivable?"

_'I lied. I was wrong. But you're my brother, Jer, and I love you. And I have to fix it. So… just tell me. What can I do?'  
>'You can go to hell, Elena.'<em>

Stefan studied her expression carefully. "Then you understand why I have to do this...Why I _need _us to be brothers again." His voice broke, "Why I thought that if we were partners of the family business, then—"

"Elena."

She jumped, turning around to see Damon standing in the doorway. His arms were crossed and he looked distinctly angry. "Excuse us for a moment, Stefan. I must speak to Elena privately."

"Of course."

Elena quickly stood and followed Damon to the hall outside, shutting the door firmly behind her. "I'm sorry," she blurted out, "I tried to..but it didn't work..a-and—"

"Hey," Damon cut her off, cupping her face with both hands as he gazed down at her with a concerned expression. "You look upset...what happened? Did my brother say something to you?"

She shook her head, "Damon, I think...he's truly sorry for everything that happened...he only wants to reconcile."

"So?" A muscle ticked in his jaw, "I don't care if he wants to _apologize_, Elena. That doesn't change what he did!"

"No, it doesn't," she agreed, placing a hand on his arm, "But that doesn't mean that you have to hurt him like he hurt you, Damon. If one of you doesn't stop, then it'll just be a vicious cycle...why not end it all right now?" Elena looked up at him earnestly, "Why not be the better man?"

A myriad of emotions flew across Damon's face before he closed his eyes, "After what he did to me, I _deserve _this company, Elena...and he deserves nothing."

"I have a brother," she whispered, her hand reaching down to clasp Damon's. "And there was a point in time when I thought he wouldn't forgive me for something I had done...so I _know _what you're both going through. I do." He opened his eyes and she gave him a small smile, "I just don't want you to do something you'll regret, Damon."

He was silent for a few moments, and Elena held her breath hopefully.

Eventually, he heaved a sigh. "You're right," he finally admitted, gently stroking her cheek with his thumb. "I have to put what happened behind me, and move on."

Immensely relieved, Elena reached over to envelop him in a tight hug. "I knew you could be the better person," she murmured in his ear, her cool lips brushing against his cheek.

However, he caught her in his arms as she began to step back and covered her mouth with his, giving her such a spine tingling kiss that she moaned when he pulled away. "So," he muttered as he kissed a path down to her neck, "You _didn't _seduce my brother?"

Elena let her head fall back against the wall in pleasure as his lips moved to nibble her ear. "I guess...my skills...only worked...on you," she managed to gasp out as Damon's hands ran up and down her dress searchingly.

"Good to know," he murmured, "So, would you mind terribly if I ripped this dress off you right now?"

She let out a startled laugh, pushing him away teasingly. "Not until you work things out with your brother," she said in a mock-stern voice, raising an amused eyebrow when he pouted.

"Oh alright," Damon agreed dramatically, darting forward quickly to kiss her once more before reaching out to open the door. He held his arm out to her, "Shall we?"

Elena smiled back at him, linking her arms with his as they walked back into the library. As soon as she stepped in, however, the darkness overtook her and she was pulled away into yet another dimension.

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><p><strong>*<strong>_three sins down, four to go! btw, thank you for all your awesome reviews :) OH and __if you followed me on twitter and I havent followed you back yet, it's because I didn't know you were from this site...so just let me know, and I'll add you! xoxo._


	6. Sloth

**Definition of Sloth: **the sin of doing nothing at all. It can take the form of general laziness and reluctance to exert oneself, or a failure to do specific things that one ought to do. For example, a man who stands idly by while a crime is committed instead of stepping in to prevent it is guilty of sloth, even if he is not directly involved in the crime itself.

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><p><em>CHAPTER 6: SLOTH<em>

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><p>When Elena opened her eyes, she was shocked to find herself standing in the Salvatore boarding house. Everything was just as she remembered it to be, and she slowly turned around the living room trying to figure out what was going on. Flames crackled cheerfully in the fireplace, at complete odds with the chilling silence that permeated the house. "Hello?" she called out hesitantly, "Is anyone there?"<p>

More silence.

Just when Elena had decided that maybe she should venture outside, she heard _it_.

A quiet sob, followed by a sudden gasp as whoever it was tried to hold back their tears.

Elena frowned and curiously made her way in the general direction the sound had come from. She ended up in the library where she saw Bonnie sitting at a table, her hands covering her face as she cried silently.

"Oh my god, Bonnie!" Elena exclaimed, rushing towards her friend, "What's wrong? What happened?"

Bonnie's eyes widened and then she abruptly stood up, holding a hand out defensively. "What are you doing here?" she spat, "I thought I made myself clear, _Elena_. We are no longer friends. Get out!"

Elena ground to a halt, her mouth dropping open at the pure venom in Bonnie's voice. "What? Wait—what are you talking about? What's going on?"

There was a small sound behind her, and Elena turned to see Stefan standing there. To say that he looked confused would have been an enormous understatement. "Elena? You...but I thought you...left?"

Realizing that something big had apparently gone down, she said the first words that came to mind, "I decided to come back."

"Why?" Bonnie snapped, "There's nothing for you here."

"She's right," Stefan agreed, though his voice sounded pained, "Why are you here, Elena? After everything that happened?"

"I..." Elena found herself momentarily speechless, unused to so much hate directed at her from two people that she had always counted on. "I wanted to fix things," she finally said, hoping that these words would mellow out the rising tension in the room. "Is that such a crime?"

"No, what your _boyfriend _does is a crime!" Bonnie shouted, her hands clenching into fists in her rage. "Where is he, anyway? Did you leave him at some rest stop to prey on _more _innocent people?"

Elena initially flinched at Bonnie's tone before she turned to look at Stefan questioningly. He, however, was staring at her with an almost wary expression. "Well? Where is he?"

"Who?"

"My brother, Elena."

"What? Oh, um, he's—"

"Home," a familiar voice sang out, sounding a little too devilish for her liking. "Miss me, honey?" Damon stepped into the library, his words seemingly directed at a furious looking Bonnie.

A chair tipped over and fell with a resounding thud onto the floor. A second later, Elena realized that Bonnie had kicked the chair over in her haste to get to Damon. "No!" Stefan shouted, leaping into Bonnie's warpath and forcing her backwards. "You'll only make things worse!"

"He killed them all!" she screamed, "They're all dead because of him!"

Damon's self-assured expression flickered only briefly, before it was once again replaced by the indifferent mask he had perfected so well. "Guess you didn't miss me, then?" he shrugged carelessly before moving to kiss Elena on the cheek. "Still think coming back was a good idea, sweetheart?"

Stefan glanced at them before firmly gripping Bonnie's shoulders and pushing her towards the doorway. "Go upstairs," he commanded, "I'll take care of this."

"But—"

"There's been enough bloodshed," he said roughly, "Just go!"

Bonnie's shoulders slumped forward in defeat, though she still sent one last glare in Elena's direction. "I hope I never see you again," she hissed, before her gaze flicked over to Damon. "_Either _of you."

Once Damon heard that she was climbing the stairs and safely out of hearing distance, he raised an eyebrow at his brother. "What was she doing here?"

"She lives here, now," Stefan answered stiffly, "In one of the guest rooms."

"_What_?" Elena sputtered, "Why?"

"Don't tell me you shacked up with the witch," Damon scowled, "Because that would seriously go against everything I stand for."

"She has nowhere else to go," Stefan said in a low voice, "After Klaus burnt down her house...tracked down her father and Lucy and killed them them too...Bonnie had no one left to turn to."

To Elena's surprise, Damon's expression softened for a split second. "Why would she choose to stay in Mystic Falls? She should've gotten out, like Elena and I did."

Stefan ran his fingers through his hair, and Elena was struck by how tired he looked. "I don't know, okay? I think maybe she wants to finish up her senior year before moving away. Not everyone can skip town whenever they feel like it."

This last sentence was weighed down with several different emotions, but mostly blame. Elena struggled to wrap her head around what was going on. _So, this was a post-Klaus world? And apparently she (and Damon) had done something to majorly piss everyone else off...well, whoever was left alive, anyway—it didn't sound like too many people had escaped Klaus unscathed..._

"I told you to come with us," Damon growled at his brother, "You're the one that refused!"

"Leaving after all the death and destruction we've brought to this town would've been wrong!" Stefan shouted, "How do you not see that?"

"There was nothing left in this town for me to stay for!" Damon roared back, "How do _you _not see that?" He took a deep breath, gripping the bookshelf next to him so tightly that Elena could hear the wood start to crack. "They're all dead, Stefan..._all _of them. Everyone that you—that _we—_ever cared about."

"I know."

Damon's face contorted with agony, and Elena found herself reeling back from the raw emotion she saw there. "All of them," he said quietly, "Andie, Caroline, Ric, Tyler, the mayor, the sheriff...Jeremy."

Elena suddenly found herself gasping for air. _Everyone that she loved was dead in this world? Klaus had killed them all? _

"I know," Stefan repeated bleakly, "Klaus tore this town apart when he was looking for me...and I'll never forgive myself for that. Th-that's why I stayed, Damon. I had to."

"Well, you always were a glutton for punishment," Damon returned harshly. "You think you can do _anything _for these people? For this town? You honestly think you can somehow help?"

Stefan closed his eyes, "At least I'm trying. At least I didn't run."

"Don't," Damon blurred forward to shake Stefan angrily, "Don't you dare act like you're somehow _better _because you stayed...you did it for your own selfish reasons—on your eternal search for redemption—"

"Stop it!" Elena cried when Stefan snarled and shoved against Damon, sending both of them flying across the room. "STOP!" She shook her head frantically, "I don't understand! Why is Bonnie so mad at me? Why does she blame me for what happened?"

Stefan picked himself off the floor, sending Elena a look of disbelief. "You left," he stated simply, "When she needed you the most. And worst of all, you left with Damon."

"Yes, that's what any SANE person would do after their town was nearly destroyed by a dangerous, vengeance-seeking HYBRID!_" _Damon bellowed, "We were right to leave!"

Elena pursed her lips, remembering Stefan's words (_worst of all, you left with Damon_) and Bonnie's rage. "But she thinks everything is Damon's fault? That he's responsible for killing...everyone?"

The door creaked open and Bonnie stepped into the room. It wasn't clear how long she had been standing behind the doorway, listening. But she had most definitely overheard Elena's last question.

Stefan groaned, "I thought I told you to wait upstairs?"

Bonnie appeared not to hear him, and her gaze focused solely on Damon as she answered Elena. "No, I don't blame him for killing everyone. It was Klaus and his little team of hybrids that killed Caroline and Tyler and their parents. It was Klaus that killed Jeremy and Alaric. It was Klaus that burned down my house and turned half this town into rubble."

Damon didn't back away, even when Bonnie walked towards him threateningly. She stopped when she was about five feet away, her eyes blazing with hatred. "But it was _Damon _who stood by and ALLOWED my father and Lucy to be sacrificed." Tears streamed down her cheeks, "He could have stopped it from happening, but he didn't."

Elena felt her throat go dry when neither Stefan nor Damon corrected this statement.

"We've been through this before," Damon said in a hard voice, without a trace of regret. However, an emotion flashed so quickly across his face that Elena wasn't even sure she had seen it. _Sympathy._

"I don't care how many times we go through it," Bonnie seethed, "It doesn't change the facts."

"And I don't care how much you hate me for it," Damon straightened, "If I had to do it all again—I wouldn't change a thing."

Bonnie let out a gasp, and Elena balked at his cold attitude. "Damon," she began in a protesting tone, but he cut her off.

"I wouldn't change anything," he repeated, "Klaus offered me a deal, and I took it. I told you before, Elena, that I would do anything to save you." He met her gaze intensely, "That I would always choose you."

"But—"

"This was the only way to save you _and _Bonnie. I promised Emily Bennett that I would protect her bloodline, and I did." Damon swallowed, "This was the only way I could keep you both alive."

Bonnie didn't move a muscle, "And I'll never forgive you for it."

"I know."

"And as if that wasn't enough, you decided to _leave_," she raged on, determinately not looking at Elena, "Both of you."

Damon spoke softly, "You can't blame her for wanting to get out. She lost a lot of people, too. We all did."

Bonnie only shook her head, turning away. "I can't be here right now. Not while you guys are here. It's...too soon." With that, she turned on her heel and strode out of the library. A second later, they all heard the front door slam shut.

Stefan rubbed his neck, somehow looking even more exhausted than he had before. Damon looked at him sharply, "When was the last time you slept? You can't rebuild this town on your own, you know."

"I'm not, I'm just..."

"Hey," Elena interrupted, "Go get some rest. We'll wait up till Bonnie gets back."

"We will," Damon nodded curtly, "Don't worry."

It took several more minutes of convincing, but Stefan eventually headed off to bed. Elena and Damon decided to wait in the living room, and she sank down onto the sofa while Damon poured himself a glass of scotch. "What?" he asked when he sat down next to her, "You look like you have something you have to say to me. Something that I won't like."

"What's the real reason?" she prodded, "The real reason you wanted to leave?"

For a second, she thought he wasn't going to answer. Then he sighed, looking away from her. "Everything I did...everything I _do, _it's all to keep you safe, Elena. To keep you alive. I stayed in Mystic Falls for you...and I fought to protect it _because _of you. But then somewhere along the way, I realized that I had actually grown to..."

Elena was watching him carefully, "You had grown to care about the people in the town, too."

"When everyone died...I had nothing left to stay for," Damon glanced at her, "The only thing that mattered was you, and getting you away from all the heartache." He paused before continuing bitterly, "My brother stayed because he felt responsible for what happened. He stayed because fixing things was his way of dealing with the guilt. Typical Stefan."

"People deal with grief in different ways," Elena murmured, "I guess I decided to leave with you because I...wanted to take the easy way out."

"You didn't want to," Damon muttered, "But I convinced you that it would be for the best to leave this all behind. To start over." He placed his empty glass down at the coffee table and stared at it with unfocused eyes. "I was selfish with you, Elena," he admitted, "I was the one who was running away, and I made you come with me."

"You didn't _make _me do anything," Elena shifted on the sofa, her arms encircling Damon to pull him closer. "It was my choice, too," she whispered, "Maybe I wanted the same things you did."

Damon didn't pull away from her embrace, even though she felt him stiffen in her arms. "But you don't want the same things anymore," he tilted his head up to meet her gaze, "You don't want to leave."

"If what Stefan says is true, then we _should _be helping rebuild this town," Elena tried to reason with him, "It's the least we can do."

He stood up, extracting himself from her grip so that he could pace back and forth in front of the fireplace. "What if I don't want to stay?" he asked belligerently, "What if I have no reason to stay?"

Elena moved to stand in his path so he was forced to stop pacing. "Mystic Falls is your home," she told him quietly, "And it's my home, too. I'm staying, Damon."

Pain flashed across his face. "Don't do this," he said in a strained voice, "Don't—"

She stepped closer to him, wrapping her arms around his neck and reaching up to kiss him gently on the lips. "Running away is too easy," she stepped back, "We were looking for a way out, and we took it. _This_...staying in Mystic Falls...it'll be hard. It'll be painful. But...it'll be the right thing to do."

Damon hung his head, slowly walking away from her and taking a seat in the armchair. For a long time, neither of them spoke. Elena stood still, staring into the fireplace. _I have no idea what trial this even is, _she realized, w_hat if I'm not supposed to be leading him down this path?_

"Come here," Damon's voice cut into her thoughts and she looked up to see him gesture to her.

She cautiously walked over to him, settling herself on his lap as he tightened his arms around her. "Did you think about it?" she asked, her voice muffled as she buried her face in his chest.

"You want to stay," he said simply, "That means I'm staying, too."

Startled, Elena lifted her head to look at him, "What?"

"If that means I have to stop taking the easy way out, then so be it," Damon shrugged, "It's about time I started owning up to my actions, anyway."

She blinked, "You're serious? You're going to stay?"

Damon nodded, the flames from the fireplace making his eyes glow. "I love you, Elena," he said strongly, "Wherever you go, I go. And if you want to stay and do the right thing, then that means that I will, too."

Elena smiled, and the words fell easily from her lips, "I love you, too." She settled back comfortably in his arms, closing her eyes as she felt him brush a kiss on her forehead.

She kept her eyes shut even when she felt a force begin to pull her away, choosing instead to hold on tightly to the feeling of warmth and love she got from Damon holding her.

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><p><strong>*<strong>_a bit of a darker trial, but I hope you still liked it! xoxo._


	7. Gluttony

**Definition of Gluttony: **act of overindulgence for the sake of pleasure- often refers to food and drink. For example, drinking to the point of drunkeness or drinking to decrease inhibitions.

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><p><em>CHAPTER 7: GLUTTONY<em>

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><p><em>Loud.<em>

That was Elena's first thought as soon as she realized that she had successfully arrived at another trial. Wherever she was…it was loud.

She slowly opened her eyes, and was quite unprepared to find herself in the midst of a bustling airport. In fact, Elena was so busy gaping at her surroundings that she didn't notice the man walking in her direction until he pointedly tapped her shoulder.

"Huh?" Her head whipped around to see Damon standing before her, wearing—of all things—a _fedora. _He had also left the top buttons of his white, long-sleeved collared shirt open. To top it all off, he was wearing large black shades. Indoors.

"_This _is who they sent to pick me up?" He looked her up and down (at least, she thought that's what he was doing—she couldn't see his eyes through those damn sunglasses), and then he shrugged. "Alright then, love. Where to?"

It was only then that Elena realized that she was holding a sign in her hands. She flipped it around to see the name 'Damon Salvatore' written in thick permanent marker across the front. "Oh…" she let her arm fall to her side and tried to smile, "I guess I'm here to pick you up."

Damon only stared at her impassively.

"Well, uh, right this way," Elena gestured to him and attempted to walk purposefully towards the exiting doors, without having any idea of where she was supposed to be taking him. She assumed that there would be some sort of car waiting for them, but the question was—

"Ms. Gilbert, over here!"

Elena looked towards the sound immediately, her eyes widening when she saw a man waving to her. He was standing next to a limousine.

"Over there, then?" Damon asked her dryly when she didn't move, and he began carting his luggage towards the limo where the driver opened the door and ushered him in.

She snapped out of her trance and hurried after him, her heels clicking loudly against the pavement. She slid into the limo after Damon, feeling supremely uncomfortable as he turned to look at her. "Could you take those off?" Elena scowled, pointing at his shades, "We're sitting _inside _a car!"

Damon raised an eyebrow but pulled them off, instantly wincing as the light hit his face. He squinted at her, "Happy now?"

Elena frowned, examining his bloodshot eyes. "What's wrong with you?"

He abruptly slid forward so that they were inches apart, his lips brushing against her cheek. "Take a wild guess," he breathed, laughing when she pushed him away in disgust.

"You're drunk," she accused, crossing her arms. "But you just got off a plane! How many of those little bottles of alcohol did you _buy_?"

"A lot," Damon grinned as he tried to remember. He caught her gaze and waggled his eyebrows, "The flight attendants were _very _accommodating to my needs."

"I'm sure they were."

He smirked when he saw the disdain in her expression. "Get your mind out of the gutter," he said lazily, "I was only talking about the freely flowing booze."

Elena began to reply but then realized that the limo had come to a full stop. Seconds later, the driver opened the door for them and they both stepped out to see...wait, was that the Salvatore boarding house? She stared at the mansion in front of her in bewilderment. They clearly weren't in Mystic Falls, but there was no denying the similarities between the two buildings.

"Hey," Caroline stepped out of the house and waved to her, "I hope you don't mind me stopping by, Elena. But Matt called and told me you hired him to cook all day and he was bored without anyone to talk to..." She trailed off when she saw Damon and her eyes narrowed as she took in his appearance. "Rough flight?" she asked coolly.

Damon muttered something under his breath.

"Well," Elena said uncertainly once the luggage had been brought into the house, "I guess you'll want to shower and stuff...um, Caroline, could you show him to his room? I'll just see how, er, Matt is doing with dinner."

Caroline shrugged indifferently and grabbed one of the duffel bags while Damon was left to tend to the suitcase. Elena waited until they had disappeared up the stairs before she made her way into what she assumed would be the kitchen. Her mouth dropped open when she stepped in to see the expansive room, complete with Matt standing at the stove and cooking up a tasty looking meal.

He turned around when she walked in and smiled at her broadly, "Elena! You actually made it back from the airport!"

"Sure," she returned the smile quizzically, "Why wouldn't I?"

"You know," Matt rolled his eyes, "I thought maybe that drunken moron would've gotten on the wrong flight and ended up in Hawaii instead."

Figuring out that he was referring to Damon, she nodded absentmindedly, "Well, he _was _drunk."

"Big surprise," Matt shook his head, "It sucks that Stefan is forcing you to be Damon's agent...I mean, hello—it's your company, too!" Elena could only blink in response, but Matt was already in full-rant mode. "If anything, Stefan should be the one shouldering the responsibility for his own freakin' brother! But _no, _of course it's a 'conflict of interest.' I'm telling you, Elena, everything that Stefan says is total bullshit. I don't know how you put up with him."

Elena hesitated "Well, he's—"

"Yeah, yeah. He's kinda your boss, I get it," Matt said dismissively, "But after him, you practically run the place!" He sighed, "It just sucks that everyone else refused to take the job and you had to. I know how much you despise Damon."

Caroline barged into the kitchen at that moment, looking harassed. "God, I hate that guy!" she seethed, "The first thing he wants to know after he sees his room is why there's no minibar in there! What does he think this is—some kind of hotel?" Her hair swung around her shoulders as she stomped around the kitchen agitatedly, "So, I told him! Like, reality check, _buddy_! You're only here to work on your _novel_ before your publishing company is forced to—"

"CARE!" Matt bellowed, and she stopped. "You're getting all riled up again," he said, patting her head indulgently, "Why don't you save all that pent-up aggression for your fiancé?"

She huffed, "Don't you worry, I have _plenty _of aggression left over when I see Tyler." She glanced at her watch, "Speaking of which, I should really be getting home so I can work off some of that aggression." She winked mischievously and strutted out the door, "Good luck with the idiot living upstairs, Elena. I'll see you at work in the morning."

Matt grinned at the expression on Elena's face. "Don't worry, you've always been able to work well with your clients. Eventually." He turned off the stove and removed his apron. "Dinner is just about set. Should I call Damon into the dining room?"

"Yeah, go ahead," Elena agreed, "I just have to check on something first." Matt nodded and she quickly swept out of the room, her feet carrying her all the way to a room at the end of a long hallway. She nudged the door open, and found herself in a large office space.

_Her_ office, to be more specific.

The desk was covered with magazine articles and post-it notes, and Elena curiously picked up the closest one only to see a tabloid picture of Damon stumbling out of a bar, being held up by someone whose face was in shadow. She frowned, looking over the other articles and noticing that they were all of the same caliber. Then she happened to look down at the phone sitting on the corner of her desk. The 'messages' light was blinking so she reached over to press it.

**You have one new message. **_"Elena, it's me," _Stefan's voice said, sounding impatient. "_I tried calling your cell but you didn't answer. I know my brother landed because there's already paparazzi photos online of him stepping off the plane. He looks drunk, which isn't a surprise to me and probably isn't a surprise to you either. Tell him I don't care how hungover he is, but he better come into work with you tomorrow morning and he better be ready to start writing." _There was a pause and then Stefan continued in a quieter voice, "_I know you didn't want the job, Elena. And I'm sorry I had to force you to take it, but I had no other choice. I'll see you in the morning." _**Beep. End of new messages. **

Elena was still trying to understand what exactly was going on when there was a loud knock on the door. "Come in," she called out impulsively, and regretted it almost immediately when Damon stepped into her office, his gaze darting around the room. "What?" she asked tiredly, "You didn't like the food?"

"The food looks delicious. I was waiting for you," Damon answered offhandedly, moving to look at the papers spread out on her desk. An amused smile played at his lips, "If I didn't know better, I'd say you were some sort of stalker."

She glared, "I'm your _agent. _It's my job to know these things."

"I know, I know," he raised his hands in surrender, "Sheesh. So touchy." He glanced at her to judge her reaction before he shifted aside some of the articles and pulled out a book she hadn't noticed before. "So, what did you think?"

Elena took the book out of his hands, her gaze skimming over the title and the author's name below it._ Damon Salvatore. _

Determined to regain control of the situation, she firmly put the book back down on the desk and met his gaze. "What I _think_ is that you should really go eat dinner and then go to bed because we have an early start tomorrow morning. Your brother has already called and you _will _be going into work with me. Contrary to whatever presumptions you have made, this is not a vacation. Got it?"

Damon's eyes flashed with anger. "Fine. Then you might want to tell your little cook that he forgot to bring out a bottle of wine. I'm accustomed to—"

"And while you're on this non-vacation," Elena interrupted in a steely voice, "There will be no alcohol of any sort. No wine with dinner. No beer with lunch. And certainly no mimosas with breakfast. Capiche?"

Silence.

"This relationship could have gone a _very_ different way, Elena," he said in a dangerously low voice before he turned on his heel and strode out of her office without another word, slamming the door so forcefully behind him that the glass ornaments on her shelves shook precariously.

Shaken, Elena took a deep breath to calm her nerves before she reached over to pick up his book again. Then, she settled herself into a comfy armchair in the corner of the office and began to read.

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><p><strong>*another 2-parter :) <strong>


	8. Gluttony: Part II

**A/N: **thank you for all the lovely reviews! p.s. a little less than a month till the S3 premiere of TVD!

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><p><em>GLUTTONY: PART II<em>

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><p>Elena was standing by the water cooler, pretending to pour herself a cup of coffee. In reality, her gaze was focused on Stefan's office. The glass walls, although soundproof, meant that everyone on the floor had a clear view of what was going on inside.<p>

It wasn't pretty.

Stefan and Damon were engaged in what looked like a vicious argument. Every so often, Stefan would bang his fist against his desk and papers would go flying onto the floor. This would only serve to make Damon even angrier, and the argument continued.

"Thank god I'm not in there," Bonnie said, appearing by Elena's side. She reached into the cupboard to pull out her own mug as she sent a questioning look in Elena's direction. "Were you able to get through to him at all? Has he started writing?"

"Nope," Elena scowled, "Actually, we're not exactly on speaking terms right now."

"Really?" Bonnie teased, "I haven't met anyone that Elena Gilbert couldn't get along with before. What happened?"

"I cut off his alcohol supply."

"Ah, that would do it," Bonnie agreed, glancing up at the office as Stefan threw a book against the wall. "I _so _don't envy your job right now," she pursed her lips as the elevators dinged open, "Though I can't say that mine is a whole lot better…"

Elena turned around to see a man step out of the elevator, his classical good looks turning quite a few heads as he walked towards Bonnie.

_Elijah._

"Heard you're having a bit of a rough time with your client," Elijah said to Elena with a friendly smile. "Want me to knock some sense into him?"

Bonnie snorted, "I think Stefan is already taking care of that."

Elijah glanced over at the office and raised an eyebrow, "Stefan always seems to go on the offensive. I think you may need to step in and smooth things over, Elena."

"Yeah," she rolled her eyes, "Right."

He looked thoughtful, "Sometimes these things need a touch of empathy—which isn't something that Stefan doles out willingly." When Elena didn't respond, Elijah gestured to Bonnie. "Come on, that book signing starts in an hour."

Elena nodded goodbye and went back to observing the Salvatore brothers. However, it looked like the argument had reached its boiling point because Damon stormed out of the office at that moment. Stefan's enraged voice shouted after him, "This is your last chance, Damon! I mean it!"

Everyone stopped what they were doing to gape at the scene, and Stefan turned to glare at them, "I'm not paying you to stand around! Get back to work!"

Elena successfully avoided meeting Stefan's gaze, but was less lucky with Damon. Or, more accurately, Damon headed straight in her direction, his eyes flashing dangerously. "Enjoy the show, Ms. Gilbert?"

"I wasn't—"

"Save it. I saw you watching."

"Well, there's nothing quite like watching a train wreck in progress," she returned coldly, "Was your brother able to convince you to start writing again?"

"I stopped listening to my brother a long time ago, Elena," Damon unexpectedly reached out for her coffee mug and took a sip of the liquid before making a face. "I thought you were rich. Can't you afford a decent cup of coffee?"

She stammered in disbelief as he proceeded to pour the contents down the sink. "What—you can't just—"

"Come on," he grabbed her arm impatiently, "I saw a coffee shop around the corner." When she let her feet drag uncooperatively, Damon turned to look at her. "Do you want me to start writing?"

"Yes."

"Then I'm going to need caffeine."

Elena rolled her eyes but didn't make any more complaints as they walked into the elevator and headed down to the ground floor. Damon remained silent until they were walking outside and he saw Elena's eyes dart up and down the street curiously.

"You looking for someone?" Damon asked casually, "Like that man I saw you with earlier?"

"What man?" Elena frowned before she realized what he was talking about, "Elijah? Oh, he just works with Bonnie."

Damon made a skeptical noise but didn't press the subject. To her surprise, he opened the door for her to a place that was nearly hidden from the public eye. She stepped into the coffee shop, eyeing the cozy interior approvingly.

"Have a seat," Damon pointed towards a pair of armchairs in the corner of the small café. "I'll get us something to drink." He stopped her as she started to reach for her purse, "It's on me."

"But you don't know what I like," Elena stated in a matter-of-fact tone, to which Damon only grinned.

"Let me surprise you."

"Okay," she responded suspiciously, crossing her arms as she obediently sat down to wait for him. A few minutes later, he returned with two steaming mugs of coffee and he set one in front of her carefully. She took a sip, her eyes widening at the exotic taste. "What is this?"

"Do you like it?"

"Very much."

"See?" Damon smirked, "You're pretty easy to figure out."

Elena studied him, "I wish I could say the same about you."

"Oh, I don't know," he drawled, "I rather like being the enigma. It makes things so much more interesting, don't you think?"

"Not when people are trying to help you."

Damon shook his head, "Is that what you think you're doing? Elena, you are being _paid _by my brother, of all people, to be my agent. Stop acting like some kind of messiah."

Elena's temper flared, and it was with great difficulty that she quelled her instinctive retort. Instead, she took a deep breath and tried to smile. "I think we got off on the wrong foot, Damon. The truth is, your brother pretty much forced me to take you on as one of my clients because no one else wanted to deal with you."

"Is this your version of a pep talk?"

"No. You just look like the sort of person who would value honesty over sugarcoating the truth."

"Well, looks like you figured out one thing about me, after all."

Elena narrowed her eyes at him. She had spent the better part of the night reading his book and catching up on all the gossip that swiveled around the eldest Salvatore brother. Now she was determined to use that information.

"I did my research on you, Damon. Four years ago, everybody was gushing over you being the best new author of the decade to hit the market. They called you everything from having the most potential, to the most imagination, to having the most impact." She leaned back in her seat, "The book was an enormous success and everyone expected great things from you."

Damon's eyes had glazed over as she recounted his past, but she knew he was listening.

"But weeks turned into months, and months turned into years," she went on, "And instead of becoming famous for your writing, you began to get in the papers for less favorable things. Every night, paparazzi snapping photos of you stumbling out of bars..."

"Maybe," Damon interrupted, "I just didn't feel like writing. Maybe I hated it. Ever consider that?"

"No. Your writing was too good for that," Elena glanced at him, "You loved writing. I could tell that just from reading your book."

"Let's hear your theory then," he said, his voice taking on a sarcastic edge. "I'm sure you have one."

Elena bit her lip and then said slowly, "Something happened to you in these past four years. Something happened to you after your book came out...something in your personal life that no one knows about."

An emotion flickered in his eyes, "Like what?"

She tilted her head, thinking. "I wondered...in all those pictures and in all those articles about you...there were never any women. I thought it was strange."

"I don't go to bars to pick up women," Damon responded in a hard voice, "I'm not interested in that."

Elena reached into her purse and pulled out his book, laying it on the table between them. "To answer your question from last night, I did read your book and I loved every second of it. You have a real way with words that speaks to the reader...draws them in."

He stared at the book, avoiding her gaze.

"A love story," Elena probed gently, "From someone who isn't interested in women? It doesn't add up, Damon." She hesitated, "When you were writing that book...you were in love with someone."

Damon abruptly stood up, and she got the feeling that his mood for conversation was over. "This is probably a moot question," he said harshly, "But have you ever loved someone who didn't love you back, Elena? Someone you would've given up _everything _for, only to find out that they would never feel the same way about you as you felt about them?"

Elena was rendered temporarily speechless.

"Yeah," he gave a bitter laugh as he looked her over, "I didn't think so."

Without giving her a second glance, he strode out of the coffee shop, leaving her to mull over his revelation alone.

.

He disappeared, of course.

She searched the office building high and low, and eventually ran straight into Stefan. "Elena," he said in a deceptively calm voice, "Where's my brother?"

It took ten minutes of arguing before she convinced him to give Damon another chance. From the weariness in his expression, she could tell that he wanted to trust in his brother just as much as she did.

Twenty minutes later, she walked into her house and headed straight upstairs, striding into Damon's room without knocking. She found him lying on the bed, the floor littered with empty beer bottles. "Hey," she rushed over to him, "Damon! Wake up!"

He opened one eye blearily and groaned when he saw her, "You're not supposed to be here."

"No, _you're _not supposed to be here," she corrected, trying to haul him into a sitting position. He didn't make it easy, his arms hanging downwards to resist any movement. Elena refused to let him win however, and soon enough they were both seated against the headboard, with Damon leaning heavily against her.

"Did my dear brother tell you to drop me as a client?"

Elena frowned when she detected the hopeful quality in his tone. "He was about to," she answered lightly, "But I convinced him to give you another chance."

"What?" Damon sounded displeased, "Why?"

"Because I thought you deserved another chance," she said simply, "Because you're one of the greatest writers I've ever seen. Because I still believe you can come back from whatever rut this girl put you in."

"Another chance?" he scoffed, his head falling slightly to rest against her shoulder. "Maybe you give out too many 'second chances' Elena."

"I probably do," she agreed, "But only to people who deserve it."

Damon didn't say anything to this.

"So, you wrote the book when you were in love with someone," Elena prodded, "And you thought the two of you would have an epic journey together, just like the characters you wrote about. So what happened? What went wrong?"

He lifted his head to look at her, only then seeming to realize that their bodies were molded together. "Sorry," he muttered, shifting to put some room between them. Elena immediately felt the loss of his touch, but she remained stoic as he started his story.

"Her name was Katherine," Damon began, "And she made me feel _everything _to such a heightened level of passion...I couldn't get enough of her." He paused, considering. "Now that I look back on it, I guess 'infatuation' would best describe our relationship. At least, from my perspective."

"And from her perspective?"

"Lust?" Damon shrugged callously, "Sex? It was hardly a relationship to her. She used me. End of story."

"What happened after you wrote the book?"

"I got a special copy made for her where I wrote in a dedication on the inside of the front cover." Damon unconsciously moved back towards Elena, seeking her warmth. She placed her arms around him without a second thought, murmuring for him to continue.

"When she finished reading it, she came to my house and said it was the stupidest thing she had ever read. That love was insipid and worthless and that she had stopped believing in it a long time ago. That if she had known that I was such a useless romantic, she would've never gotten involved with me."

Elena's mouth hung open, "My god, Damon...she sounds...I don't even know what to say." _But it all makes sense now—he feels like he can't write anymore because the book that he poured his heart and soul into was rejected by the one person that he thought mattered...so now he avoids writing to avoid the memories of what happened, and he drinks to numb the pain of what Katherine did to him..._

"How come you never told anyone?" Elena asked softly, "Why didn't you tell Stefan?"

"He wouldn't have understood."

"But he would have tried. He cares about you, Damon. I know he does."

Damon sighed, "I wanted to write, Elena. So many times. But I just couldn't get the words out. Every time I wanted to, I would remember what Katherine did and—"

"Shh," Elena comforted, "She's gone, Damon. What she did—there are no words to describe how wrong she was...But by not writing, you're letting _her _win. You're letting her be in control of your life." She slid forward so that she was kneeling in front of him and she could look him in the eye. "That book and everything associated with it is in your past, Damon. Don't let her affect your future."

"You don't know what it's like."

"Trust me," she cut him off, "I know a little something about pain. And loss." She took a deep breath, "Just remember, for every negative thing she said about your book, there are a thousand positive remarks that your other fans made about it. Shall I get the reviews?"

Damon finally cracked a smile, "No, that's okay." He reached out for her hand and squeezed it gently, "It feels better. Talking about it."

"Good," Elena returned the smile and clambered off the bed. "I'll get someone in here to clean this place up and—"

"Wait," Damon unsteadily got to his feet, looking at her seriously. "I know I was a jerk earlier, and I know you had every reason to not want me as a client...and I know you went out on a limb for me." He shoved his hands in his pockets, looking down, "Thank you."

Elena took a step towards him, holding his gaze as she neared. "You're welcome," she whispered, standing on her tiptoes and brushing a kiss onto his cheek. Then she stepped back and smiled, "How about we go out for lunch? I can tell Matt to take the rest of the day off, if you'd like."

Damon shook his head, "Actually, I was thinking we should go back into work."

"Excuse me?"

He gave her a small grin, "Let's just say that I feel like writing again." He walked past her astonished expression and held the door open for her, "After you, my lady."

Elena could see the darkness swirling beyond the doorway, and felt a rush of relief. _He had passed the trial. _She pretended to curtsey, causing him to flash another grin in her direction. Then, she confidently walked out of the room and let the darkness spin her away.

* * *

><p><strong>*two trials left! <strong>


	9. Lust

_a/n: first off, thank you so much to everyone who suggested ideas for this trial- you're all so creative! But I was rewatching Buffy and decided to go with a darker route for this one. Hope you'll still enjoy it! p.s if possible, read in the dark ;) _

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><p><em>CHAPTER 9: LUST<em>

* * *

><p>Elena opened her eyes as soon as she felt the hard ground beneath her feet. Something instinctive had her skin crawling and she shivered in the cool air as her gaze darted around her new surroundings.<p>

It looked like an abandoned building of some sort, lit only by moonlight streaming through the cracks in the boarded-up windows. Elena took several cautious steps forward, glancing down to see her footprints outlined prominently in the layer of dust that covered the floor.

_What was this place_?

She paused then and stood utterly still, her ears pricked for any noise. When she didn't hear anything after a few minutes, Elena slowly walked out of the room and found herself in a small hallway, illuminated by a single lightbulb on the wall. She looked up and down the hallway, noticing that there were five shut doors between herself and the staircase at the end. The sixth door, the one that she had just walked out of, was the only one open.

Elena took a deep breath to steady her nerves as she began making her way towards the staircase. She could feel her neck prickling with fear—s_omething didn't feel right…she had never been here before, so why did it feel so familiar?_

She had just walked past the last door in the hallway when the floorboard beneath her gave a particularly loud creak and she froze. Then, before she could react, the door next to her flew open.

A scream stuck in her throat as Elena stared in terror at the man before her. Blood was dripping from his mouth, his fangs glistening in ruby red. She didn't have time to discern any of his other features before he rushed at her in a mere blur and she gasped out in pain as her back hit the opposite wall. "What's this?" he hissed, "An unmarked human?"

"Wh-what?" Elena cried out again as his hands dug into her shoulders, "_Please, _I d-don't even know where I am! What _is _this place?"

The vampire took a step back and tilted his head, studying her. "Little girl lost?" he mocked, sneering at her even as the veins disappeared from his face.

It was only when she was staring at his human form that she recognized who it was. "Matt?" she whispered, her hands flying to her mouth in shock. "Y-you're a vampire?"

Matt swiped an arm across his mouth, succeeding only in smearing his jacket with blood. His eyes narrowed suspiciously, "How do you know my name? Who sent you?"

"No one," she stammered, pressing herself against the grimy wall as he took a threatening step towards her. "I t-told you, I don't even know where I am!"

"Matt!" a girl's voice called plaintively from the room behind them, "Where'd you go?"

"I'll be there in a minute!" Matt snarled back, turning his head slightly towards the open doorway but not taking his eyes off Elena. "I'm just dealing with a little problem."

"Problem?" Elena's eyes widened, "I'm not a—" She broke off when a girl shuffled to the door, clutching a bloodstained sheet to her body. "Aimee?" she blurted out, "Aimee Bradley?"

The girl squinted, "Do I know you?"

"You some kind of witch?" Matt grabbed Elena's arm roughly, "How do you know everyone's name?"

Aimee, however, didn't seem too concerned about this and she pouted at Matt, "Why do you have another human? You said you would use me tonight."

"And I will," he said menacingly, "Go back inside!"

"Only if you come with me," Aimee purred, letting the sheet drop to the floor. Elena let out an involuntary gasp before quickly averting her eyes—but not before she saw the bite marks that covered every inch of the girl's body.

Matt growled again, but this time for a different reason. He let go of Elena's arm and blurred across the hallway to slam into Aimee, burying his fangs into the curve of her shoulder. She let out a moan, clutching him closer to her even as fresh blood began running in rivulets down her body.

Elena decided to take advantage of his momentary lapse in attention and ran for her life, her feet pounding down the stairs. She skidded onto the floor and grabbed the front door, pulling on it frantically—only to realize that it had been padlocked shut.

"Hey, where'd that girl go?" Matt roared from upstairs and Elena gave a squeak of terror before spinning on her heel and running desperately through the rooms in search of a back door. _These people had to get in here somehow!_

She ran through a kitchen (that looked like it had never been used), and through a dining room (the dining table was covered with dried blood), and finally ended up in the living room. Here, she was forced to come to a halt, and she looked at the sight before her with increasing horror.

Vampires and humans alike were scattered around the room, all in various states of undress. There was Jeremy (still human), his arms held out at his sides while two vampires greedily fed from his wrists. Elena didn't move to intervene because it was clear he was enjoying himself. She shuddered.

Then the two vampires shifted position and she got a clear view of their faces: Anna and Vicki. _Of course. _

Her gaze flicked away, thankfully not recognizing anyone else in the room. There was a sudden sound from behind her and she whirled around to see Matt glaring, "Trying to run, are we?"

Elena screamed, and distinctly saw Matt back away from her. She didn't bother to stand around and wonder why everyone had fallen silent, their expressions full of trepidation as they stared at the ceiling. She saw a door in the corner that she hadn't noticed before and hurled herself towards it, nearly crying with relief when she fell onto the grassy ground outside.

She scrambled to her feet and ran, chancing one look backwards at the house to see if anyone was following her. No one was, but when she turned back around, she hit a very solid roadblock.

She fell to the ground, and found herself staring at black boots. She slowly moved her gaze upwards until she found herself looking into cerulean blue eyes. Even in the heavy darkness, they glinted dangerously.

When she got to her feet, however, she noticed his eyes flicker with confusion, "Katherine?"

"No." Her voice came out in a whisper, and she inwardly cursed herself for sounding so meek. _I've been through worse than this, _she reminded herself, _a lot worse. _

Damon took a step towards her, his gaze sweeping her body. "You're right," he agreed, "Katherine would never be caught dead wearing _that_."

Elena bristled before she happened to look down at what she was wearing; a too-large grey dress that ended halfway between her knees and ankles. It was torn in several pieces, and could probably more accurately be termed as "rags."

"And I can tell you're human," Damon added, studying her face carefully. "The similarities are uncanny, of course. Are you a street girl?"

"_Excuse me_?"

"She claims she's lost," Matt's voice came from behind her, though he sounded considerably more subdued and respectful in Damon's presence. "She had no idea where she was when I found her."

Damon scowled, "_You're _the one that found her? And, what? You couldn't control her?"

"I tried—"

"Shut up," he snapped before turning to look at Elena and barking, "What's your name?"

She gritted her teeth at his tone and straightened. _No way was she letting these people intimidate her._ "Elena Gilbert," she said strongly, her mouth curling in distaste at the man before her. "What is this place, anyway? Some kind of vampire whorehouse?"

"Yes," Damon responded unexpectedly, then he amended, "Well, I only own half of it. The other half belongs to my brother."

Something in his tone made Elena pay attention and she turned around to look at the building behind her. Realization washed through her as she examined it. _The Salvatore Boarding House—no wonder it looked so familiar..._

"Well, Elena," Damon said as he closed the few feet between them at a leisurely pace, "Do you know what you interrupted when you decided to run out of my house like a screaming banshee? No?" He reached out to grasp her shoulders and turned her around forcefully, "Now tell me, Elena, wouldn't you be just a tad pissed off if you got interrupted in the middle of _doing _something that...enjoyable?"

Andie was standing about twenty feet away from them, completely naked. Elena immediately looked away, to which Damon began laughing. He grabbed her chin and twisted her around to look at him, grinning as she tried to fight him off. "You're blushing," he commented, "How adorable. So, you're really not a street girl, then?"

"I never said I was," Elena snapped back heatedly, to which he raised an amused eyebrow.

"Of course not," he said offhandedly, "You just dress like one."

She wasn't even aware of her arm swinging backwards, but the slap echoed dismally in the sudden silence. Elena let her stinging hand fall to her side, swallowing back her fear. Damon had frozen, and it was only a few moments later that he lifted a hand to his jaw almost curiously.

"No one touches Damon Salvatore and lives," Matt said coldly from behind her, "Say goodbye to your life, _Elena_."

"Stop," Damon ordered, reaching over to grab Elena's arm with a vice-like grip. "I'll deal with the girl myself."

"No! Let me go!" Elena shrieked but Damon growled and then tossed her easily over his shoulder, seemingly oblivious to her fists as she pounded uselessly against his back.

"What are you doing?" Andie demanded as they neared the house, "You're supposed to be with _me _tonight!"

"Get out of the way."

"No," Andie said firmly, "You hired me—you promised to pay!"

"I _said_, get out of the way," Damon began to walk past her when she grabbed his arm to stop him.

This was a mistake.

Even Elena ceased struggling, stunned into wondering what Damon was going to. She heard him mutter something under his breath before he lifted Elena off his shoulder and placed her on the ground. She scrambled backwards, her eyes widening as he turned to look at Andie. "You dare lay a hand on me?" he hissed at her, "You dare demand my money?"

"Run!" Elena shouted at the other woman, but Andie only squeezed her eyes shut tightly, waiting for the blow to fall.

Damon roughly grabbed Andie's hair, pulling her towards him. "We had some good times together," he said harshly, "But you can easily be replaced." Then he reared his head back, vamping out and sinking his fangs into her neck.

"No!" Elena cried out, "Please d-don't kill her! She didn't do anything wrong! It's m-my fault for interrupting you! She doesn't deserve to die!"

He turned to look at her, and she could've sworn she saw him roll his eyes. He let Andie drop to the floor where she began scrambling to her feet. "I'll let you go just this once," he warned, "Don't come back." Andie nodded frantically and began running, tripping over herself in her haste to get away.

Elena hesitantly stood up, watching Damon warily.

"In the short time I've known you," he said to her, "You've disrupted my sex life, let a perfectly good source of blood run away, _and _stopped me from killing someone."

She shrugged weakly, "Guess I really know how to multi-task?"

Damon growled and abruptly blurred forward, grabbing her around the waist and speeding into the house and up the stairs. Elena let out a scream before wisely choosing to hold on tightly until he suddenly threw her off. She shut her eyes instinctively to brace herself for the fall, but instead she landed on a surprisingly soft surface and bounced several times before coming to a stop.

Elena opened her eyes and looked down at the king sized bed in a room that was at complete odds with the rest of the house. It was furnished, clean, and looked very much like Damon's actual bedroom back home.

Damon leaned against the bed post, his signature smirk in place. "Elena Gilbert," he mused thoughtfully, "Are you sure you aren't Katherine? She hasn't found some way to become human again?"

"I'm not her," Elena licked her dry lips nervously, "I don't think you can undo becoming a vampire." Damon nodded at her absentmindedly, his eyes watching the movement of her tongue across her lips. She realized this and immediately stopped.

Half of his mouth curved upwards in amusement, "What if I don't believe you?"

"I'm not lying," she snapped, jumping off the bed and positioning herself in front of him, "And I don't care if you believe me or not."

Damon's eyes darkened and he suddenly slid an arm around her, hauling her against his body. "Prove it," he whispered, tightening his grip around her. "Prove you're not Katherine."

Elena stared back at him defiantly, even as her pulse accelerated in an odd mixture of apprehension and excitement. _The trial, _she told herself sternly, _focus on the trial. _Out loud, however, all she said was, "How?"

He leaned even closer, his lips hovering above hers, "Kiss me."

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><p><strong>*this one might be a 3-parter because it's so much fun =P <strong>


	10. Lust: Part II

**A/N: **yay thanks for all the reviews- glad to see so many people liked the darker version of Damon last chapter (setting inspired by Buffy episode 5x10)! speaking of which, _this_ chapter's Buffy reference is dedicated to aj81writing. Anyone that follows her on twitter will know why ;)

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><p><em>LUST: PART II<em>

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><p>Elena did the math in her head quickly; if her calculations were correct, then that meant there were only two trials left: lust and wrath…and Damon didn't seem particularly <em>angry <em>about anything, so that meant—

"No!" she exclaimed, shoving a hand against his chest and skidding backwards, "I can't kiss you!"

Damon stared at her in complete bewilderment.

It was abundantly clear that no girl had ever turned him down before.

"You _can't _kiss me?" he repeated incredulously, his eyes narrowing as she skirted around him, "Why not?"

Elena ran her fingers through her hair, unnerved to see that she was shaking. "I just can't, okay?" She tried to move towards the door, but Damon instantly blocked her path.

"Actually," he said to her in a deceptively calm voice, "That's _not _okay." She felt herself grow cold as he began circling her, much in the manner of a predator stalking its prey. "You expect me to believe that an unmarked human just _happened _to stumble in my house?" He glowered, "Do you take me for a fool, Elena?"

It was the second time that night that she had been referred to in this way—she shivered at the vivid memory of Matt sneering at her (_What's this? An unmarked human?)— _and then she scowled at Damon, "Everyone keeps calling me that! What does it mean? Unmarked?"

He looked briefly confused at the fact that she didn't know this information, but then he smirked and made a show of eyeing her over. His gaze was so blatant that Elena suddenly felt very exposed and she instinctively crossed her arms around herself. Damon raised an eyebrow at this gesture, but didn't comment. Instead, he slowly knelt down in front of her, his gaze fixed on hers as he reached out to trail his fingers along her legs.

She jerked back immediately, her eyes widening, "W-what are you doing?"

"Be still," he murmured, moving his fingers onto her dress and continuing his journey upwards past her waist, lightly caressing her curves. Damon could feel her tensing under his touch as he slid his hands down her bare arms and then back up again, and he felt an odd sense of pleasure when she shivered involuntarily. Keeping their eyes locked, he then let his fingers brush her throat and skitter across her face. "See?" he said in a low voice, "Unmarked."

It took Elena a second to realize that he had finished his exploration of her body, and she snapped out of her trance at once. "What the hell was that?"

Damon sharpened his tone, "You're unbitten, Elena! You have _no _marks anywhere on you, there are no signs that a vampire has ever drunk from you—someone like you doesn't just _wander _into a place like this! The only people that know where to find this place are vampires and the humans that those vampires brings here." His jaw clenched, "You are neither."

"Oh..." _That explained a lot. _"I see."

"Yeah," he mocked, stepping closer so that he could cup her face, "Which is why I need you to kiss me."

He lowered his head to hers but paused when she whispered, "But you already believe that I'm not Katherine."

"Humor me," Damon breathed, and she felt her lips part in spite of herself. Just as his mouth brushed against hers, a low beep resounded in the room and he drew back, cursing under his breath.

Dazed, Elena opened her eyes to see Damon slide a cell phone out of his pocket and hold it up to his ear angrily. "What?" he growled into it, "This better be fucking important, Matt—what? Are you sure?"

He blurred across the room to look out the window, leaving Elena to stand there in utter disbelief. _Did I really just stand there and almost let the kiss happen? What's wrong with me? _She shook her head and backed out of the room silently, desperate for some air. She tiptoed down the hallway and took one step at a time down the stairs, looking back frequently to make sure that Damon was still occupied.

She was only halfway down the staircase when the front door suddenly flew open, the padlock on the inside breaking in half and falling uselessly to the ground. Elena gaped in shock as Stefan and Caroline waltzed in, both looking drunk out of their minds. "I'm home!" Stefan crowed, his arm thrown haphazardly around Caroline's shoulders as they both stumbled in. "Did ya miss me?"

"Shh," Caroline giggled, adding in a loud whisper, "He'll hear you!"

"We wouldn't want that," Stefan put on a mock serious face before he also doubled over in drunken laughter. With clumsy movements, he grabbed Caroline's shoulders and spun her around, kicking the door shut behind him. Then he shoved her roughly against the banister, his hands fisting into her hair as he pressed a hard kiss onto her mouth before sinking his fangs into her throat.

"No!" Elena cried out, shaken out of her reverie at the sight of her friend's blood pooling onto the floor, "Stop!"

Stefan looked up the staircase, the expression on his face becoming almost comical. "Katherine?" He pushed Caroline aside without a second thought and blurred up the stairs. He tripped slightly but managed to regain his balance as he stared at Elena in pure wonder. "My god," he reached out to touch her face, "You're even more beautiful than I remember...I've missed you so much, Katherine..."

"I—"

"Are you _kidding_?" Caroline hissed, clutching a hand to her neck as she glared at Stefan. "That's not your precious Katherine, you _moron_! Even _I _can tell that she's not a vampire! For starters, look at what she's wearing!"

Stefan let his hand drop to his side as he took a step away from Elena. "Not Katherine?" he repeated, sounding disappointed as he stared up at her, "You're only human?" Before she could answer, a look of rage crossed his features and he lunged at her. Elena screamed as he sent them both hurtling over the banister, and she squeezed her eyes shut to brace herself for the ten foot drop.

But it never happened.

There was a sudden whoosh of air as Damon appeared below her, catching her easily in his arms. He tightened his grip on her possessively as he stared daggers at Stefan. "This one is mine, brother," Damon said in a cool voice, "You know how I feel about sharing."

Stefan was breathing hard, already crouched into an attacking stance. "She's unmarked," he hissed, "How can she be yours?"

"She just is," Damon retorted, "Go play with your other toys, Stefan." He jerked his head in Caroline's direction, "Your girlfriend's getting blood on the carpet." With that, Damon whirled out the front door.

.

They were sitting on opposite ends of a park bench. Elena opened her mouth for the umpteenth time to say something, but couldn't figure out what to say, so she shut it again.

"I made la casa de Salvatore because of my brother," Damon said after the silence had stretched for far too long. "In there we can be as true to our nature as we like. We have no inhibitions, no rules, no ties to humanity." He glanced at her, "We present a different facade to the real world, but that's just how it works."

Elena chewed on her lip, "Has Stefan always been so..."

"Intense? Psychotic?" Damon shrugged, "Only when he's drunk. The girl he was with, Caroline...she's usually a good influence on him. Calms him down when he goes off on benders."

"She's human?"

He nodded, "She's Stefan's girlfriend for the most part. He might feed on other girls, but she's the only one that he takes to bed."

Elena looked up at this to see Damon gazing at her so intensely that she immediately looked away again. She cleared her throat uncomfortably, "Um, so how did they meet?"

Damon responded casually, "He was stalking her."

"Excuse me?"

He grinned at her expression, "Stefan met her one day at the local bar. He pretended to be human and they went on a few dates until one day he decided to bring her to the house and tell her the truth. She, naturally, ran off." Damon shook his head, "Stefan was a nightmare to live with that week. He did everything imaginable to get her back before he resorted to scare tactics."

Elena didn't want to know, but morbid curiosity had her asking, "What did he do?"

Damon shifted closer to her on the bench, the corners of his mouth turning up mischievously. "Well," he began, "Stefan had already been invited into her house...or more accurately, mansion." At Elena's look of confusion, he elaborated. "Caroline's family comes from money. They're probably the third or fourth richest family in town." He shrugged indifferently, making it clear that the Salvatores were first on the list.

"Anyway, there's this huge fish tank in that house...one of those wall-to-wall contraptions," Damon smiled darkly then, and Elena suddenly had serious misgivings about this story. "One day when Caroline came home, she saw a large white box lying in the middle of the floor. And so she knelt down to open it—"

"Forget I asked!" Elena leapt to her feet, but Damon followed suit and grabbed her arm to stop her from walking away.

"Oh come on," he teased in a low voice as he leaned forward to whisper in her ear, "Don't you want to hear how it all turned out?" She stiffened when she felt him lightly push her hair to the side so that he could brush his lips against the back of her neck. "So, she opened the box," Damon whispered, "And found four of her prized piranhas- now dead- all strung together on this rope, and there was a little note from Stefan that said—"

Elena spun on her heel, turning to glare at the smug expression on Damon's face, "You're lying."

"I'm not," Damon disagreed, "I'm just showing you how _easy _it is for vampires to get what they want." He held her gaze for a moment before lowering his head to place a kiss on the hollow of her throat. Her pulse jumped erratically as he continued to trail a path of kisses along her jawline until he reached her lips. "So just give me what I want," he murmured, his tone wavering between seduction and desire. "Elena..."

Before she could react or even make a conscious decision, Damon had closed the distance between them, his mouth moving expertly against hers. As their tongues danced around one another, they both staggered backwards until Elena's back hit a stone wall. She gasped for air as Damon took this opportunity to lift her so that her legs wrapped around his waist. "Better," was all he muttered before his lips covered hers again, his hands moving to tug down the loose straps of her dress.

As he turned to kiss the newly exposed skin, Elena had a sudden unobstructed view of the large water fountain in the middle of the park. It was probably beautiful in the sunlight, but it was difficult to see the stream of water at night.

This was not, however, what caught her eye.

Bonnie's face was reflected in the cascading water, her expression disapproving. Her lips moved, and Elena could hear the words as clearly as if Bonnie was standing right next to her. "_You're failing the trial."_

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><p><strong>*this is the first time in all the trials that real-world-Bonnie had to interfere! Part 3 coming soon ;) <strong>


	11. Lust: Part III

**A/N: **haha I absolutely loved how all the reviews for last chapter were like "oh well, Elena is failing...but who can really blame her?" LOL. totally agree!

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><p><em>LUST: PART III<em>

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><p>Damon felt Elena stiffen in his arms, and he lifted his head to see what was wrong. He was startled to see her gazing at something in the distance, looking nothing short of terrified. "Elena?" He glanced over his shoulder, but didn't see anything there. "What's wrong?"<p>

She was breathing hard, her cheeks burning crimson. "Damon, I—" she shook her head, her hair flying around her shoulders vehemently. "_This_...it can't happen!" He could only stare at her in disbelief as her legs loosened from his waist and she pulled away from him.

"Elena—" He turned around once more to try and figure out what had spooked her, but all he could see was some stone water fountain. When he turned back to face her, he realized that she was walking away from him so fast that she was nearly sprinting. "So you're not going to tell me what happened then?" he called after her loudly, a scowl crossing his face when she refused to turn around.

She did pause, however, her shoulders hunching over in the darkness. "I can't do this," she tried to say in a firm voice, though she sensed that she hadn't succeeded. "I just...can't."

"Bullshit." Damon blurred to stand in front of her, ignoring the way her gaze immediately flew to the ground to avoid looking at him. He studied her for a moment before reaching out to pull the straps of her dress back into place. When she still didn't look up, he let his hands rest on her shoulders. "Why are you fighting it?"

She sucked in a shaky breath, "Fighting what?"

"The attraction, Elena," he unconsciously tightened his grip on her, forcing her to look at him. "There was something between us back there," his eyes bored into hers, "You can't deny it."

Elena shook her head once, but with no conviction. "It doesn't matter," she muttered finally, "Just because you feel...an attraction...to someone, doesn't mean that you should act on it."

"Actually, Elena," Damon corrected, taking a deliberate step towards her, "In my world, that's _exactly _what it means."

This got her attention, and she suddenly glared at him. "Hate to break it to you, but not everybody plays by _your _rules, Damon."

He raised an amused eyebrow, "Since when?"

"Since now," she answered through gritted teeth, twisting out of his grip as she whirled on her heel to walk away.

Damon grabbed her arm and pulled her back towards him, his eyes flashing dangerously. "You know what vampires can do, Elena," he warned, "I can very easily make you...agreeable."

"You mean Compel me?" Elena returned coldly, "Of course you could...but you won't."

"Oh really?" he drawled, "And why not?"

She tossed her hair over her shoulder, "Because it would be truly pathetic if Compulsion was the only way Damon Salvatore could get a girl."

His attitude changed from casual to furious before she could blink. "Trust me, _Elena,_" he nearly growled, "It will be a cold day in hell indeed when I need Compulsion to get a woman in my bed." He narrowed his eyes at her as he stepped closer, "You'll see."

Elena knew she was playing a dangerous game, but there was no way of backing out now. "Is that a threat?" she asked innocently, "Or a promise?"

Damon let a slow smile play at his lips as he held her gaze, "I'm going to have you exactly where I want you, Elena."

Her expression didn't change, "And where would that be?"

"Under me," his eyes glinted, "Screaming my name in the throes of passion."

Elena knew he was trying to get a reaction out of her so all she did was remark casually, "Are you sure you're in the position to be making those kinds of comments?"

Damon didn't look fazed, "I will have you, Elena. No tricks, and no Compulsion." He tilted his head at her, "It'll be real."

They were left staring at each other in silence, which was only broken when a familiar voice rang through the rising tension. "Damon? Is everything alright?" Elena turned around to see Matt approaching them, looking confused. "The girl is still alive?"

"I _am _standing right here, you know," Elena shot back hotly, to which Damon hid a grin.

"I've decided to keep her around," Damon answered dismissively, "Did you take care of that situation you called me about earlier?"

Matt hesitated, "Your brother left quite a scene at the bar. Six bodies this time. Er, Alaric wanted me to tell you that Stefan is really banned this time."

"Ric says that every two days."

"I think he really meant it...Things were pretty bloody in there."

"Fine, I'll have yet another lovely discussion with my dear brother in the morning after he's sobered up," Damon rolled his eyes, "You know, I think he's really started warming up to these weekly heart-to-hearts."

Matt didn't appear to be listening and he gestured towards Elena, "So since you're keeping her around, does this mean that I can buy her services for the night?"

Elena's mouth dropped open in anger, but Damon intervened before she could speak. "Afraid not," he said to unapologetically to Matt, "The girl is mine."

"Is she?" Matt's lip curled, "Because she still looks unmarked to me..."

Damon stiffened, taking a casual step to the left so that he was standing directly in between Elena and Matt. The latter smirked, unbridled bloodlust playing across his face. Then, before anyone could react, he suddenly blurred around Damon to get to Elena.

She let out a strangled gasp as Matt grabbed her in a chokehold, pulling her tightly against his body. Damon looked enraged, but Matt paid no heed as he sneered, "Too bad, you had your chance...Guess I'll be her first."

"I wouldn't do that if—"

But Matt had already vamped out, tearing viciously into Elena's throat. She screamed in pain just as Damon surged forward and tackled Matt to the ground. "You didn't mark her," Matt snarled, as he tried to fight off Damon, "She was fair game!"

Damon hovered above him, fury etched across his face. "You forget your place, Matt. I didn't let my brother touch her, and I'm sure as hell not going to let you have her either."

Matt let out a derisive laugh, "Why not? You pass around all your other girls—this one's just your flavor of the week, she's not any different from the others!"

"You know, I don't think I really have room on my staff for any more blabbering idiots like you," Damon hissed, and in a flash of motion he had pulled a wooden stake out of his back pocket and rammed it into Matt's heart.

Elena struggled to her feet, clutching a hand to her neck to stem the blood flow. She could already feel the warm liquid running down her arm and staining her dress as it slowly dripped onto the ground. Damon turned to look at her, an unidentifiable emotion flickering in his eyes. "Let me see," he requested, but she shook her head and backed away rapidly. "Elena, you're losing a lot of blood, just let me look at—"

"Stay away," she warned, blinking as her vision began to blur, "I don't need your help."

"Whoa," Damon suddenly appeared next to her, catching her as she stumbled backwards. He shook his head, "I don't understand you, Elena. I _killed _one of my trusted staff members for you...most girls would swoon at something like that!

She opened her mouth to reply scathingly, but he cut her off.

"Save it, I know you're not like most girls," Damon snapped, "Now will you just drink my blood so I don't have _another _dead body on my hands tonight? Because I think Stefan's body count of six is as much as I can handle at once."

Elena watched weakly as he bit into his wrist and held it in front of her lips. To her enormous surprise, he didn't force her to drink. Instead, he waited patiently to let her make the choice of whether to take it or not.

It was this act, more than anything else that he had done, that made the decision for her. She pulled his wrist to her mouth and hesitantly sucked at the puncture marks, letting his blood run down her throat and replace what she had lost. After a few moments, she happened to look up and was shocked to see the intensity of the heat glimmering in his eyes.

She was even more surprised at the way her body immediately reacted, with desire battling her better instincts.

Elena let go of his wrist but didn't move. "Thank you," she murmured quietly, looking up at him, "Why'd you do that? Why did you kill Matt?"

Damon looked as if he didn't know the answer himself. "I guess...I didn't want to see you tainted by anyone else," he said finally, shrugging, "I want you for myself."

She nearly groaned in exasperation. _This trial is impossible! Lust is all he thinks about—how the hell am I supposed to change that?_

"Because you _are_ different," he continued unexpectedly, sounding almost as if he were talking to himself. "The way you stood up to me when I met you, how you tried to save Andie even though you didn't even know her, and then you tried to help Caroline...you have real fire, Elena. I like that about you."

Elena stared at him. "I thought..." her voice hitched and she was forced to start again, "I thought you wanted me because I looked like Katherine."

Damon frowned, "I thought so, too. But the truth is...you don't remind me of her at all." He glanced down at her and then leaned forward, gently placing a kiss on her lips before cupping her face with his hands. "There is something going on between us, Elena. You know there is." She closed her eyes as he pressed a kiss onto her forehead and then whispered, "Why don't you give it a chance?"

She opened her eyes hesitantly, her heart pounding in her ears. Over his shoulder, she could see a black vortex beginning to form and she felt tears prick her eyelids in a mixture of relief that he had passed_—_and a tinge of regret that she had to leave. "Okay," she agreed softly, sliding her arms around his neck and brushing her lips against his lightly, "I'll give us a chance."

Damon grinned against her lips as he deepened the kiss, and she slowly turned them around so that her back was to the portal. As his hands slid down to her waist to tug her closer, she felt the vortex pullher away.

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><p><em><strong>*<strong>yay he passed the trial! I tried to show that Damon was initially attracted to her because of lust, so the trial was for him to admit that there were other reasons he liked her_—because the connection between DE on the show is much deeper than just pure attraction :) anyway, next chapter will be Wrath!__


	12. Wrath

**A/N: **ah here we are, at the final sin! probably the hardest trial yet...

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><p><em>CHAPTER 12: WRATH<em>

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><p>As Elena floated back to consciousness, she was vaguely aware of the fact that she was lying down on a soft surface, perhaps on a bed or a sofa. The next thing she became aware of was the sounds of hushed voices hovering above her.<p>

"There's not even any guarantee it worked…these things don't always go as planned!"

"You think I don't know that?"

Then, silence.

Elena focused on the _drip, drip, drip _of rain splattering onto glass. It belatedly occurred to her that something was terribly wrong. Everything felt too loud at once, yet at the same time oddly muted as though she was having an out-of-body experience.

"How much longer?" a third voice asked—a melodic girl's voice that sounded scared stiff. "It's been a long time…"

"As long as it takes," someone hissed back, "As long as it fucking takes!"

Elena's skin tingled, first feeling too hot and then too cold.

She shivered.

A chair scraped back, the wood grating against the floor. "Hey," the first voice whispered, "Did you guys see that? I think…I think I saw her move!"

There was a sudden rush of air around her and she felt fingers brush against her cheek gently. The warmth shot straight to her core and her eyelids fluttered in response. "Elena?" the voice sounded hopeful, "Can you hear me?"

Soft footsteps approached cautiously, one at a time. The same girl that had spoken earlier breathed out, "Damon, what's happening?"

_Damon..._

Elena suddenly found herself gasping for air, her lungs screaming for more. Her eyes flew open just as someone placed a heavy hand on her shoulder. "Breathe!" a rough voice ordered her, "Stay calm for me, Elena."

_I don't feel very calm. _Nonetheless, she tried to nod to show that she understood. She shut her eyes again almost instantly however, the brightness of the room straining her pupils.

"It's too bright for her," someone called out hurriedly, "Put something in front of the windows!"

"But the curtains are already closed…and it's really dark!" the girl complained.

"Caroline!"

Elena slowly reopened her eyes, squinting for a minute until she could recognize the three people standing over her: Stefan, Damon, and Caroline. The expressions on their faces were so somber that she immediately realized someone had died. Her heart sank as her gaze darted around the living room of the Salvatore house, but there was no one else there. _Oh god. _"Jeremy?" she croaked, "Where is he?"

"Shh," Caroline soothed, her eyes shining with unshed tears, "Jeremy is fine. He's at the hospital...Bonnie and Alaric are staying with him." She reached out to stroke Elena's hair and repeated firmly, "He'll be fine."

"Elena," Stefan moved into her line of vision, his eyebrows furrowed in concern. "How do you feel? Does anything hurt?"

"I feel..." she frowned, "Strange. Everything's so..." Elena looked past Stefan's shoulder and found herself taken aback to see that Damon's crystal blue eyes had been replaced by a dangerous stormy grey. "What's wrong with me?" she blurted out, suddenly arriving at the conclusion that something had happened to _her_. "Why do you all look like someone's dead?"

"Sweetie," Caroline began, but Stefan placed a hand on her arm stop her. He glanced behind him, seeming to ask his brother's permission for something. When Damon didn't move a muscle or respond in any way, Stefan sighed and knelt down so that he was at eye level with Elena.

"You don't remember anything?" he questioned her, "Anything at all?" She shook her head, attempting to sit up on the sofa. He helped her and then raised himself so that he was perched on the coffee table. "You don't remember what happened with Klaus?" he tried again, "The fight?"

Elena shrank back into the cushions, unnerved by the conversation taking place. "Stefan, what's going on?"

He opened his mouth to answer her, but then didn't say anything. His shoulders slumped forward and he once again turned to look almost pleadingly in Damon's direction.

Damon closed his eyes, his jaw clenching. But then he strode forward, taking a seat next to Elena on the couch and reaching out to clasp her hand within his own. "Two weeks ago," he began in a guttural voice, "We finally located Stefan and Klaus. We had been searching for months, running into dead end after dead end. But then we finally got a breakthrough."

"And don't worry about the bloodlust," Caroline put in when she saw Elena glance at Stefan, "We've been working on that. He's made really good progress."

Stefan attempted a smile, but it came out as more of a grimace.

"As you can imagine," Damon continued darkly, "Klaus was rearing for revenge. The big showdown happened last night."

"Klaus..."

"Is dead."

Elena let out a sigh of relief. _At least I don't have to deal with Klaus in this trial. _Then she remembered, "You said Jeremy was in the hospital?"

Damon's expression hardened, "He was trying to save you."

"Me?" she sat up straighter, and felt Damon tighten his grip on her hand, "Why?"

"It all happened so fast," a single tear slid down Caroline's face and she hastily wiped it away. "Klaus' witch was strong, and Bonnie was struggling...Tyler was unconscious, Alaric had been stabbed...Katherine and Stefan had both been vervained up." Caroline trailed off, "It was just me and Damon against Klaus...we didn't see what was happening until it was too late."

"You made me drink your blood, Elena," Stefan said brokenly in the sudden silence, "You wanted me to help with the fight and you knew that human blood would get the vervain out of my system."

Damon's grip on her hand was now painful.

"Jeremy pulled you off," Caroline shuddered, "He was screaming...and the storm was so loud...I looked over and saw you on the ground, bleeding to death." She paused, "Damon—"

"I fed you my blood," Damon cut in emotionlessly, "And then I got you the hell out of there." He looked down and swallowed, "I thought you would be safe, Elena. Everyone was engaged in the fight, I didn't think..."

"None of did," Stefan reached out to touch his brother's shoulder, "None of us could have guessed that Klaus had found a second witch."

Then they stopped talking, all equally unwilling to fill in the gaps of the story.

But Elena had already figured it out. And even though she kept telling herself it was just a trial, she still felt the horror spread through her veins. "I d-died?" she managed to choke out, "I was killed?"

"The witch," Caroline murmured, "She killed you...brought your body back to the clearing. Klaus was so pleased that he got distracted, sloppy. Bonnie was able to overpower him."

"So I died with vampire blood in my system," Elena looked over at Damon, "Your blood."

Stefan took her other hand, either not noticing or not caring that Damon hadn't let go of her. "You didn't come back to life for a long time," Stefan said quietly, "We were afraid it didn't work...that you would never come back..."

"Am I..." Elena struggled to force the words out, "A vampire?"

"If you drink human blood," Damon spoke finally in a gritty voice, "Then the transition will be complete."

There was a quiet knock on the front door at that moment and they all turned around to see Tyler walk into the living room hesitantly. He looked enormously relieved to see Elena sitting there and he flashed her a genuine smile, "You're okay."

Elena tried to smile back, but her face felt frozen. "In a manner of speaking," she said to him, not knowing if he was privy to what was going on. She glanced at Caroline, "Does he...?"

"He knows," Caroline answered her before turning to Tyler, "We just finished telling her what happened last night...she didn't remember much."

Tyler took a deep breath, shoving his hands in his pockets as he gazed at Elena. "Did you...decide?"

She had no idea what he was talking about and frowned, "Decide what?"

He looked perplexed, "If you're going to drink human blood? If you're going to become a vampire?"

Elena stared at him blankly.

Damon stood up, scowling, "She doesn't have to decide now. She still has some time."

Tyler nodded quickly, "Yeah, of course." He glanced at Damon but then looked back over at Elena, "I just...I want you to know that it's _your _decision, Elena. Don't let...other people...decide your fate for you. Me becoming a werewolf...it was something that I fought so hard against, but then I didn't have a choice. But _this_...It's up to you, Elena. Don't forget that."

"Thank you, Ty—"

"Get out."

Tyler's eyes widened, "What?"

Damon took a threatening step forward, "I _said, _get out."

"Hey," Caroline protested indignantly, "What's wrong with you?"

"You don't get to come into _my_ house and tell Elena something like that," Damon snarled, "In fact, why don't you just stay the hell away from her from now on? This is all your fault, anyway!"

Elena got to her feet unsteadily, throwing her arms out in front of Damon. "_Don't_," she hissed at him, "It's no one's fault!"

"If you hadn't bit me, then I wouldn't have needed the cure, then Stefan wouldn't have gone and sacrificed himself, and then we wouldn't have had to go and rescue him from one incredibly unstable HYBRID," Damon bellowed, "And none of this would have happened! GET OUT!"

Stefan stepped in front of Tyler, trying to shield him from Damon. "You're angry, you're upset," he tried to reason with his brother, "You don't mean any of that."

"I do," Damon was breathing hard, "I mean every word."

Caroline looked furious, "If Tyler goes, then I go! If anything, you should be blaming me—You came to rescue me from that tomb, and I'm the one that wanted to help Tyler, remember?"

Damon's eyes flashed, "You know what? You're right. You can leave, too." When Caroline didn't move, Damon vamped out in fury. "LEAVE!" he shouted, shoving against her so that she flew backwards into Tyler's arms. "BOTH OF YOU!"

"Don't listen to him," Stefan muttered to Caroline, "He's not himself—"

"It's fine," she answered in a clipped tone, "I get it. It's Elena's life we're talking about. Trust me, I get it."

Elena stared on helplessly, "Tyler, Caroline...I'm sorry. You know I don't blame you guys..." She turned to look at Damon, but for the first time she was actually frightened of the rage etched across his face.

"It's okay," Tyler held up both hands as he and Caroline backed up towards the door, "It's probably best if we leave for a bit. Let everyone cool off." He nodded to Stefan, "We'll stop by the hospital and let them know that she's awake."

"Thanks," Stefan closed the door behind them and then turned towards Damon disapprovingly, "You can't take this out on innocent bystanders. You know it's not their fault."

Damon glowered, "Don't start with me, Stefan."

"Hey, look at me," Elena placed a hand on Damon's chest and looked up at him beseechingly, "A lot of things have happened. I get that. But..." She bit her lip, thinking. "You know what they say about chaos theory? The butterfly effect? When a butterfly flaps its wings in one part of the world, it can set off a series of events in a completely different part of the world..."

"You can't compare—"

"I'm just saying that the smallest, most insignificant thing can affect so much more than we could ever even begin to comprehend," Elena interrupted softly, moving her hand from his chest down his arm and intertwining their fingers. "We can't blame anyone for what has happened, Damon. Do you see that?"

Damon stared at her for one second before abruptly pulling away and stalking to his liquor cabinet. Elena watched worriedly as he sifted through the empty bottles angrily before letting out an enraged shout and hurling a bottle into the fireplace.

Elena instinctively lifted her hands to her face as the glass shattered loudly. She heard Stefan yell something and she lowered her hands just in time to see Damon whirl out the front door, violently slamming it shut behind him.

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><p><strong>*another 2 parter! hmm, what do you guys think the actual trial will be? ;)<strong>


	13. Wrath: Part II

**A/N: **thank you for all the wonderful reviews! and now, without further ado, I give you the final trial chapter- enjoy! p.s. see if you can catch the Buffy reference!

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><p><em>WRATH: PART 2<em>

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><p>Elena was sitting on the sofa, her fingers curved tightly around a half empty glass of scotch as she stared into the fireplace. It had been two hours since Damon had stormed out, and Stefan had immediately gone out after him, leaving her alone in the house to mull over her thoughts.<p>

There hadn't been any word from either of them since.

When the front door opened a short while later, she found herself turning towards the sound hopefully. Her face fell, however, when Stefan walked in alone. "I couldn't find him," he informed her tiredly, his eyes widening slightly when he noticed what she was holding. He gave her a small smile, "Have I really driven you to drink?"

"What? Oh," Elena hastily put the glass down on the coffee table, "It's, ah, not for me."

Stefan leaned against the wall, raising an eyebrow in mild amusement. "You know that excuse only works if there's someone else in the room, right?" He spread his arms out as he mocked jokingly, "But it wasn't _my _cigarette, I was just holding it for a friend…"

Elena found herself relaxing and she studied him curiously. "You're different," she mused, "You seem less…"

"Don't be fooled," he slid into the space beside her on the sofa, a weary expression on his face. "It's just an act. I wanted to see you smile, even if it was just for a second."

"Thanks," she said, and she meant it. "In all seriousness, though," she nodded towards the glass, "I wasn't drinking. I just thought that if Damon came back, then I would hand over the alcohol and get him talking…" She chewed at her lip anxiously, "I've never seen him so angry before. Except maybe that time when he found out Katherine wasn't in the cave—"

"This is worse," Stefan interrupted her, all trace of humor gone from his voice. "I thought he had hit rock bottom then, but now it's like…I don't know how to describe it, Elena. When he found out that witch had killed you..." He shook his head, "Something snapped in Damon. I don't think he cared if he lived or died, as long as he got his vengeance."

She swallowed, "So, he killed her?"

Stefan didn't answer for a minute, appearing to choose his words carefully. "He did. And he went about it in the worst way possible...I honestly think that he was trying to end his own existence in the process. It was only when Caroline started screaming you had died with vampire blood in your system...that's when he started fighting back."

Elena closed her eyes, running her fingers through her hair. _It's worse than I thought. _"Why are you telling me this?" she asked instead, not meeting his gaze. "What do you want from me?"

"I want you to know the truth," he spoke softly, reaching out to place his hand over hers, "Before you...make a decision."

She held back the tears that were threatening to fall. _It's not for real, _she reminded herself, _it's just part of a trial. _But still, the mere thought of having to make this choice _again_ was simply too much to handle. "What do you think I should do?"

"I won't make your decision for you, Elena," Stefan said in a pained voice, "I made the choice for Damon all those years ago, and I will never forgive myself for that. I was selfish and ignorant and I just...I didn't _think _about the consequences." He looked at her seriously, "I won't do that to you. I respect you too much for that."

She looked up at him, the tears glistening in her eyes reflected in his own.

"I know we're not together anymore," Stefan went on quietly, "But I will always love you, Elena." He began to leave the room, but then he paused. "Damon...he loves you, too. Probably more than you realize."

Elena turned around, startled. At that moment, however, the front door slammed shut. She rose to her feet as Damon came to a halt in the hallway, looking in between her and Stefan. "Thank god you're alright," she moved towards him gratefully, but stopped when he refused to look at her. "Where have you been? Stefan's been searching all over town for you..."

"Out," Damon responded shortly. He then strode purposefully towards the staircase, hissing in warning when Stefan grabbed his arm to stop him.

"Stay," Stefan ordered his brother in an undertone, "Talk. She doesn't have much time left." Then he turned towards Elena and gave her a sad smile before grabbing his jacket and walking out the door, leaving her alone with Damon.

"Here," Elena held the glass out to him, "I thought you might need this."

Damon hesitated but took the glass from her anyway, his fingers brushing against hers. Their eyes met briefly as they both felt the spark, but neither commented on it. He downed the contents of the glass before taking a seat in the armchair across from her.

She waited for him to say something, but he didn't.

When the silence became deafening, Elena twisted her hands in her lap nervously. "I feel like my senses are heightened. It's dark in here but I can still see, I hear things that I normally wouldn't, my skin feels like it tingles when the air hits it, and I have this...feeling in the pit of my stomach, like..."

"It's your body pushing you to drink human blood," Damon ground out, "It means your time is running out to make a decision." He gripped the glass in his hand so tightly that it suddenly burst into a million fragments, causing Elena to jump in shock. "I'm fine," he growled before she had a chance to ask, "Perfectly fine."

Elena slumped backwards, at a complete loss of how to deal with his attitude. "You scared me earlier today," she decided to say, "The way you treated Caroline and Tyler...they've done nothing but help, you know that."

Damon let the shards of glass fall from hand as he abruptly stood up, his eyes flashing with anger. "Don't start with me, Elena. I'm not in the mood."

"You can't sit around and blame other people for what's happening!" She wasn't aware of getting to her feet, but suddenly they were face to face and he was screaming at her.

"YOU THINK I DON'T KNOW THAT? YOU THINK I DON'T REALIZE THAT THIS IS ALL MY FAULT?"

Elena's eyes widened in shock, "Wh-what? No, Damon, I don't—"

"My blood," he hissed at her, his fingers digging painfully into her shoulders as he shook her once, "It was _my _blood, Elena!" He let go of her and turned away, but not before she saw the torment in his expression. "If I hadn't left you alone, if I had kept a closer eye on you, if I had..." he broke off, slamming his fist into the wall in anguish. "So many things," he whispered, sinking to the ground, "I could've done so many things differently."

"Hey, hey," Elena hurriedly sank down in front of him, wrapping her arms around him and burying her face into his hair. "Don't do this to yourself," she said to him fiercely, "It's not your fault; it's _no one's _fault! Maybe it was just...fate."

He looked up at that, pushing her away. "Your death," he snarled "Is _not _fate! You can't be fated to die at 18, Elena! Or fated to become a vampire..." He tilted his head back against the wall, "No. It's my fault. I should've done a better job of protecting you." He laughed bitterly, "It figures, right? The one person who I love most in this world...and I took away the one thing that you cherish most." At her confused look, he muttered, "Your life."

The ticking clock seem to grow louder in her ears, at the same time that the gnawing feeling in her stomach intensified.

Elena gasped out, and Damon immediately latched on to her wrist, his eyes narrowing. "It's getting worse, isn't it?"

She wasn't able to speak so she only nodded.

He immediately swept her into his arms and carried her back to the sofa, looking helpless as he knelt down in front of her. "We..." he began hoarsely, before clearing his throat and starting again. "We have blood bags in the basement, Elena."

She let the tears fall freely down her face, knowing what he was asking of her. She reached out for his hand, pulling it to her heart even though it was no longer beating. "I never wanted to die, Damon," she cried, "And I never wanted to become a vampire."

"I know," he whispered, and she felt her heart ache at the agony in his voice. "But I can't lose you, Elena..." his voice broke, "I just can't."

Elena let go of his hand and wrapped her arm loosely around his neck to bring him closer. "You won't," she told him, her voice wavering in and out of control, "You'll always have me." Then she kissed him lightly on the lips, feeling him pull away from her almost immediately.

"Don't," he said harshly, "Don't do this." She stared at him, watching as the facade broke before her very eyes. "Elena, I'm begging you," he pleaded, "You can't do this...not after everything that's happened! You can't just—"

Another spasm rocked through her, the need for blood getting stronger. She clutched a hand to her stomach, feeling herself grow weak. _No, he hasn't passed the trial yet! _"Damon," she tried, "Please, you can't blame yourself for this! J-just _promise _me you won't do anything rash...after...after I...you know."

He gripped his hair in his hands tightly, not looking at her. "Anything rash like what?" he sounded belligerent, "What do you think I'm going to do, Elena?"

"Don't get yourself killed," she responded sharply, "I know you, Damon...I know how you think." Elena reached out to touch his shoulder, forcing him to look at her. "Do you promise me?"

He didn't answer her.

"The hardest thing in this world is to live in it," Elena quoted, her voice taking on a desperate edge. "Please, Damon...you have to let me go. It's..." she swallowed, her shoulders wracking with sobs, "This is what I want."

Damon met her gaze then, and she knew the expression on his face in that instant would be forever branded in her memory. The pain, betrayal, loss, and pure sorrow sent a pang straight through her heart. _After everything he's dealt with, it's come down to this..._

"Okay," he breathed out, holding her gaze steadily even as a single tear rolled down his face, "I promise."

"Thank you," Elena said weakly, leaning back against the sofa and pulling Damon towards her. He sat on the edge and looked down at her, gently brushing the hair out of her face. "I love you," she found herself saying, and she felt him tense in her arms as he sucked in an unnecessary breath.

Then he slowly leaned forward and pressed a kiss onto her forehead. "I love you, too," he murmured, "So much, Elena."

Distantly, she heard a door open and then Stefan's voice, "Is she...?"

"She didn't want the blood," Damon responded quietly, "She's dying."

Elena opened her eyes to see Stefan and Damon standing side by side above her, looking more grief stricken than she could've ever imagined. "This is my choice," she managed to say, "Thank you for allowing me to make it."

"Even if it kills us," Damon whispered, kneeling down and brushing his lips against hers, "Goodbye, Elena."

The last thing she remembered seeing was the depths of the ocean in those shimmering blue eyes.

* * *

><p>She didn't see the portal, or remember the force of the vortex...but suddenly she was flying into a sitting position, gasping for air.<p>

Bonnie and Katherine looked at her, their eyes wide with relief and something else that she couldn't quite place.

Next to her, Damon stirred back to life.

_._

_~To Be Continued ~_

_._


	14. All Sins Considered

_a/n: haha apologies for any tears that might have been shed at the ending of last chapter! and thank you for all your wonderful reviews!_

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><p>Damon felt as if a heavy fog had been lifted from his mind, and it took him a second to realize that the lightness meant he was waking from what felt like a deep slumber. His senses tingled, and he tried to focus on listening to what was going on around him. After a minute, he heard Elena's voice speaking in a hushed tone.<p>

"How long have I been gone?" she whispered, "Like a week?"

Bonnie looked at her in surprise, "No, just a little more than 12 hours. We started the spell at 7 AM, and now it's night again." She hesitated, "How are you feeling?"

"Exhausted," Elena admitted, "That was…harder than I thought it would be. I mean, I _knew _it would be difficult, but I guess I wasn't expecting…"

"To be caught up in the moment?" Katherine cut in, a smug smile playing at her lips. "I guess I was right after all; you _do _love them both."

Elena flinched, and quickly looked over at Bonnie. "Did you guys…" she cleared her throat, "Were you able to see everything that happened during the trials?"

"No, I was only able to check in once per trial…and even then, I wasn't allowed to interfere unless it was clear you were failing the trial." She glanced up at her friend, "Luckily, that only happened once."

Elena flushed in response, purposefully avoiding looking in Katherine's direction. This, of course, didn't deter her doppelganger from putting in her two cents. "Yes, it sounded like you were quite enjoying yourself..."

"Well, I wasn't," Elena snapped back, "Do you have any idea how utterly lost and confused I felt during some of those trials? I had to figure out what to do, and how to act, and how to _guide _him into making the right decisions!" Damon felt a weight shift off the bed and figured that Elena must've gotten to her feet in her anger. "So don't you _dare_ tell me I was enjoying myself," she hissed at Katherine, "Because there's no way in hell you would've been able to go through all that!"

"Are you done?" Katherine asked calmly. She waited for Elena to nod curtly before she continued, "I know perfectly well that I wouldn't have stood a chance in getting Damon to pass those trials. I told you as much before—if there was anyone that could bring out his humanity, it would be _you_."

Elena blinked, "Was that a...compliment?"

"Not at all. I was simply stating a fact," Katherine nodded towards Damon's sleeping form, "No one else has affected him the way you have. Not even me."

Damon felt a surge of emotions fly through him at lightning speed, and he suddenly desperately craved to see Elena's face. But as much as tried, he couldn't seem to open his eyes just yet. Growing frustrated, he heard Elena speak again.

"The spell worked right? He passed all the trials?"

Bonnie nodded.

"How come he didn't wake up yet?"

"His body is working to cure him of any effects left over from the werewolf bite," Bonnie explained, "Now that you have proven to the witches that Damon deserves another chance at life, he will be brought back completely cured. As good as new."

"Oh," Elena drew in a shaky breath in relief, "How long do you think it'll take for him to heal?"

"Not long," Bonnie replied, though she sounded uncertain. Her gaze softened then, "Are you sure you're okay? You seem a little...rattled."

"Just some of the things that happened during the trials...they keep running through my mind and I have to sit here and convince myself that it wasn't _real. _Th-that everything is going to be okay." Elena looked up at Bonnie and swallowed, "Everything _is _gonna be okay, right?"

"You've been through a lot," Bonnie said understandingly, "Why don't you go home and rest? We'll stay with—"

"No," Elena shook her head, "I can't leave. I need to..." She looked over at Damon, "I want to be here when he wakes up."

A silence fell as the three of them stared at Damon, somehow expecting him to wake up at that moment. When he didn't, Katherine sighed and roamed listlessly around the room, picking up random objects and putting them down again without a single thought. "How much do you remember?" she asked Elena suddenly, "Everything?"

Elena sank down onto the edge of the bed, and Damon felt the warmth radiate from her body at the close proximity. "Yes" she said quietly, "I remember it all."

"The first trial," Bonnie hedged gently, "I saw you standing on a beach with Damon, Stefan, Caroline, and...Lexi."

If Damon had been able to open his eyes, he would've seen the slight judgmental look that passed over Bonnie's face as well as Elena's reaction to it. As it was, he could only hear her muted response, "Yeah, that one was Pride." Elena smiled wanly, "Now that I think about it, that one was probably one of the easiest trials..."

_He could see them...they were sitting on the beach, watching the sunset. She had been upset at him, because she thought he had gone after Lexi just to boost his own ego. But after he had set her straight, her shining smile had been reward enough. __'__What changed your mind?' she'd asked innocently, rolling her eyes when he responded smoothly, __'Let's just say that I saw the light...'_

"I think everyone was human in that one," Elena was saying, and Damon flitted back to reality. "It was so weird, seeing everyone so happy and different..." A wistful sigh escaped her lips, "It was like no one had all that life and death stuff hanging over their heads anymore." Her lips curved upwards, "And once Damon got over the pride issue, he was actually pretty sweet..."

"He can be a real charmer when he wants to be," Katherine sounded impatient, "What about the next one?" She threw Bonnie a dirty look, "All I know about that one is that you were pretending to be me? 1864?"

"People thought I was you," Elena corrected, but then she paused. "Well, actually, Emily saw right through me. I think she knew some kind of spell was going on."

Bonnie's eyes lit up for a split second, "You saw her? Was she..."

"She helped me a lot," Elena smiled at her friend, "I don't know how I could've survived that trial without her." She glanced up at Katherine, "Which part did you guys see?"

"The Founder's Ball," Bonnie supplied, "I saw you dancing with Stefan...and I saw Damon looking on, watching you guys."

Katherine smirked, "Let me guess, that one was Envy."

Elena was quiet for a minute before she responded, "It was funny, in a way. Emily knew right away that I wasn't you, and then Damon later on figured it out, too. But Stefan never did."

Bonnie frowned, "So how did you convince Damon to get over the jealousy?"

_He had seen her dancing with Stefan, and felt his blood boil. So he had followed her outside the Lockwood mansion when she'd gone to get a breath of fresh air. _To his surprise, his heart gave a painful twinge when he remembered the tears in her eyes that night._ 'Any woman would be lucky to be courted by you,' she whispered to him, 'I wish for you to find someone who will give you her whole heart, Damon.'_

"He was so innocent," Elena murmured, "And naive, and so _human_. I felt..." she broke off, "I felt _for _him." Then her voice got steely as she met Katherine's gaze, "And I told him that he deserved better."

"And that worked?" Katherine returned cattily, "Shocker."

"Okay," Bonnie held up her hands to stem off the impeding argument. "So, he passed that one. Er, the next time I checked in, I saw you serving drinks to a bunch of people." She counted on her fingers, "Damon, Mason, Elijah, Matt, and Tyler. What was that about?"

Elena rolled her eyes, "Oh, that was the Greed trial." She sent an accusing look in Bonnie's direction, "It was the first trial where I felt completely out of my element. I mean, as if it wasn't bad enough that I had to _work _for Damon, but I was his maid and—"

"His _maid_?" Katherine interrupted with a gleam in her eye, "Kinky."

At her words, a pleasant memory entered Damon's mind; one that he wasn't likely to forget anytime soon. _He had asked Elena to seduce his brother as part of some hair-brained scheme designed to rob Stefan of his inheritance, and she had risen to the task with a flare that still left him breathless. They had decided to practice her skills in his office, and Elena had started off the night by pouring him a glass of wine and murmuring coyly, 'Can I tempt you?' The double entendres had continued from there until she slid a hand around his neck, drawing herself close and whispering seductively, 'Do we really have to say any more?' _

Needless to say, he'd been a goner after that.

"You don't know what you're talking about," Elena scowled at Katherine, but neither of her companions missed the faint blush that covered her cheeks. "Working for him wasn't the hard part; it was figuring out the root of his issues with Stefan. The two of them were entangled in some nasty battle over the family business, and then I found that all their problems were because of _you_." Her lips pressed into a thin line, "Even in an alternate universe, you managed to screw them both over."

Bonnie hid a smile, "How did you fix it?"

"I realized that Stefan only wanted his brother's forgiveness," Elena smiled, absentmindedly tracing the patterns on the bedspread. "So, I talked to Damon and told him about how Jeremy and I had a falling out because I had done something unforgivable, too." She shrugged, "I guess it got through to him."

She carefully avoided mentioning what _else _had happened before the end of the trial. Little did she know, Damon's mind was also racing along the same track. _Her head fell back against the wall in __pleasure as his lips moved to nibble her ear. '__So, would you mind terribly if I ripped this dress off you right now?'_

"Elena?"

She jumped, startled. Both Bonnie and Katherine were looking at her suspiciously. "Sorry," she said quickly, "Did you say something?"

Bonnie consulted a scrap of paper, "I was just asking about the next trial? I saw myself in it..." She hesitated, "We were having some kind of fight."

"Oh, that one," Elena said bleakly, "That world was...terrifying. Almost everyone was dead because of Klaus, and Damon had sacrificed your family to save us." She chewed on her lip nervously, "And I guess I had decided to leave Mystic Falls...with him." She tried to smile at Bonnie, "You were pretty pissed at us."

Damon felt a flicker of emotion at this, and the protectiveness came tumbling down in a rush._ 'Klaus offered me a deal, and I took it. I told you before, Elena, that I would do anything to save you...That I would always choose you.'_

"I didn't figure out that was the Sloth trial till later," Elena mused thoughtfully, "So I didn't really know what I was doing. But I told him that leaving was the wrong choice because it would be taking the easy way out, and that we had to stay and face what was left of Mystic Falls. Help rebuild it with Stefan."

"And he listened to you?" Katherine sounded incredulous, "Just like that?"

Elena hesitated, and Damon knew what she was thinking about. _She was sitting on his lap in the armchair, her body curled into his like it belonged there. 'I love you, Elena,' he told her strongly, '__Wherever you go, I go. And if you want to stay and do the right thing, then that means that I will, too.' And then, she had responded, like it was the most natural thing in the world: 'I_ _love you, too.'_

"We had an understanding," Elena spoke carefully, "In that world, after everything that had happened...it was like we had turned to each other, and we shared a connection..." She looked up and grew flustered, "Well, anyway, that was the end of the Sloth trial." Her brow furrowed as she tried to remember, "The next one, I believe, was Gluttony. Damon was a writer, and I worked at this publishing company..."

"A writer?" Bonnie laughed, "You're kidding?" She looked down at her notes in some confusion, "When I checked in, I saw you guys at an airport...you were waiting for him to arrive, I think?"

"That was just the tip of the iceberg," Elena snorted, "He had written this book_—_a love story. It was this highly idealized version of love, but it was...beautiful." She glanced at Katherine, "I guess it was about you, but then you went and broke his heart...and so he stopped writing and became an alcoholic."

Katherine pursed her lips, "A bit dramatic, don't you think?"

"No," Elena answered shortly, her eyes becoming unfocused as she remembered Damon's broken voice as he recounted the tale to her. "It took a while to get him to open up, but then I told him that.."

_'...But by not writing, you're letting her win. You're letting her be in control of your life.' Damon looked up at her as she knelt in front of him earnestly, 'That book and everything associated with it is in your past, Damon. Don't let her affect your future.' _He mulled the words over in his head, impressed with her strength in dealing with the situation. She had known exactly what to say, and exactly what to do to make everything better. It was one of the reasons that he loved her.

"After that, he said he felt like writing again," Elena said, throwing a glare in Katherine's direction, "And he stopped drinking."

Bonnie crossed something off on her paper and moved down the list, "So, the one after that was Lust."

"I'm sorry about..._" _Elena groaned and covered her face with her hands, "I don't even know what came over me. You guys should've seen that world...vampires had taken over Mystic Falls and everything was just so scary a-and Matt was a vampire and Stefan was, well, psychotic and_—"_

"Hey, chill," Bonnie reached out to rub Elena's arms comfortingly. "It's okay...we're not blaming you for anything. I'd say, under the circumstances, you held yourself together pretty well." She hesitated, "The part I saw was when you and Damon were..."

"Hooking up," Elena offered dryly, her cheeks burning. Damon's mind flashed, bringing with it memories of Elena's back against a stone wall, her legs wrapped around his waist as his hands slid under her loose dress, the straps falling down_—_until she had abruptly pulled away without explanation. And now, he was starting to think that Bonnie's "interference" might just explain her sudden change in attitude.

Honestly, he didn't understand how the witch always had the worst timing _ever_.

"It wasn't really Damon," Elena was saying, "I mean, I know every trial was a different aspect of his personality...but this one felt like such an intensified version of him, that it was hard to see the _real-_Damon in there." Then she paused, considering, "But he did save my life, twice. Once from Stefan and then once from Matt. I used that to force him to admit that there was something deeper going on there; something besides lust."

Damon and Elena's memories were once again in tune, as they both remembered her final words. _He had brushed a kiss onto her forehead, whispering that they had something together...and then she had actually agreed, placing a kiss on his lips as she murmured, 'Okay, I'll give us a chance...'_

_"_And that's what it took to pass the trial?" Katherine questioned interestedly, "For him to say that he liked you for other reasons?"

Elena quickly nodded, eager to move on to the last trial. "The one I just came back from was Wrath," her jaw clenched, "This time, I was dying."

"I only saw the end of the trial," Bonnie responded quietly, "We saw the part when you chose to die instead of becoming a vampire."

Katherine narrowed her eyes, "That must've been a hard decision to make, especially with both Stefan and Damon there to convince you otherwise."

Elena took a deep breath, forcing back the tears. "I can't describe it...the gravity of making that choice," she shivered, "And both of them watching me die. It was surreal. I don't..." her voice broke, "I don't ever want to see either of them in that much pain again." Damon felt her slip her hand into his and grasp it tightly. "Never again," she whispered.

The silence was broken when Bonnie's phone beeped and she hurriedly raised it to her ear, "Anything?" Her shoulders slumped in disappointment, "Okay. Keep me updated. Everything is fine over here. Yeah, love you, too."

Elena knew what the answer would be, but she asked anyway, "Any word from Stefan?"

"No."

Katherine shook her head, "Your little friends have been searching for them, but I think they've skipped town. Who knows where they are now...or what Klaus is forcing Stefan to do in payment for that cure..."

Elena sighed unhappily before lowering her voice, "I really hope Damon doesn't remember any of the trials when he wakes up."

Bonnie frowned, "Elena_—"_

But Katherine interrupted with a sneer, "Why not? It sounds like you guys had a nice bonding experience..."

"Don't you get it?" Elena snapped, "Damon is already going to feel guilty enough that Stefan had to sacrifice _himself _just to get the cure...how do you think he's going to feel if he remembers that he and I were..." she stumbled over her words, "_Bonding_, as you so eloquently put it?"

"Listen," Bonnie tried again, but Elena held up a hand to stop her.

"No. Look, maybe I didn't tell you guys everything." She sucked in a breath, "See, I might've told him that I loved him in one of the trials. Or, actually, more than one." Elena ran her fingers through her hair desperately, "I don't want him to live with that guilt! They were _my _words, so it should be my burden to bear_—_mine alone."

"Who says it would be a burden if he remembered?" Katherine asked shrewdly, "Maybe it's something that he wants to hear, ever think about that?"

"I know him," Elena whispered, "If he knew that the two of us had been exchanging sentiments of love in the recesses of his mind while Stefan was out there being Klaus' _slave..._he would never be able to forgive himself. And I don't want to have to see him deal with that."

"ELENA," Bonnie fairly shouted, "Would you listen to me?"

"What is it?" Elena turned to her, startled, "Is something wrong?"

And it was at that moment that the energy finally flowed into Damon's veins, his body becoming fully restored. His eyes flew open, and he instinctively tightened his hand around Elena's to show her that he was awake. She gasped at the movement and whirled around, her eyes widening, "Damon?"

"The one and only," he tried to grin as he pushed himself up so that he was sitting against the headboard. "So," he drawled at the three girls in his room, "Are you lovely ladies my saviors?"

"You could say that," Bonnie's gaze was trained on him, "Though Elena did most of the heavy lifting."

"What do you remember?" Elena asked him urgently, her hair falling into her face as she looked at him hopefully. "There were these seven trials that I had to help you pass to convince the witches that you deserved a second chance at living...do you remember any of it?"

Damon hesitated. Whatever she said to the contrary, he knew she was scared. She was scared of how their relationship would change if he remembered, and she was scared of how they would be able to work together in finding Stefan if the memories of what had happened haunted _both _of them. And so he lied. "Vaguely," he mumbled, trying to sound confused, "But I don't really remember anything concrete...I have a feeling that I should be thanking you, though."

Elena sighed gratefully, the relief obvious on her face. "You're welcome," she said with a smile, "And don't worry about it. Everyone deserves a second chance." She patted his chest familiarly and got to her feet, "I know you're feeling better, but you must be starved. How about I go get you some blood bags?"

He nodded wordlessly and she shot him another bright smile before leaving the room. "Katherine," Bonnie said sharply, "Go help her."

"But_—"_

_"Go."_

Katherine muttered something under her breath but, surprisingly, followed Elena out the door.

Damon scrutinized Bonnie's expression as she stood next to him, her arms crossed. "Thank you," he said to her, "I mean it. I know you didn't have to do that spell, so thank you."

She stared at him, looking indecisive. But then she blurted out, "Why did you do it? Why did you lie about not remembering?"

He nearly groaned. _Of course she knew._ "Because I could hear you guys talking," he said truthfully, "And I knew it would've hurt her more than it hurt me to know that I remembered what had happened. I wanted to...protect her...from that pain, and that guilt."

Bonnie's eyes flickered with surprise. Before she could respond, however, Elena and Katherine walked back into the room, their arms piled high with blood bags. "Drink up," Katherine said to him, "You'll need your strength to find Klaus and Stefan."

Damon reached out for the blood bag that Elena handed him, returning the small smile that she gave him. But then he lifted his gaze above her shoulder to meet Bonnie's, his eyes communicating the silent message: _It's a secret. Just between us. Elena never needs to find out._

Bonnie looked away, but she nodded once to show that she understood.

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><p><strong>*one more chapter left! what do you guys think? Should Damon come clean and admit that he remembers? ;) <strong>


	15. End Of Days

**3 WEEKS LATER**

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><p>Bonnie raised her fingers to her temples and massaged them forcefully, willing her pounding migraine to go away. She was sitting in the Salvatore library, with newspapers and books strewn haphazardly across the table. Across from her, Jeremy sent her a sympathetic smile. She tried to smile back at him, but flinched as her head gave another painful throb.<p>

Her headache wasn't helped by the screaming argument going on in the living room.

"And every time you've come along, you've nearly died!" Damon shouted, and there was a loud thud that sounded like he had banged his fist on something. "What part of that do you not understand?"

"Well, we didn't know we were being set up!" Elena shouted back, "Just because Klaus is always two steps ahead of us, doesn't mean you can blame me—"

Bonnie covered her ears in a useless attempt to drown out their fight. For these past three weeks, she had seen the two of them grow more and more miserable. It was strange, because she would've never thought that Stefan had such a strong influence on the dynamic of their group…but, turns out, he did.

The most affected (besides Damon and Elena) was, oddly, Caroline. Bonnie hesitantly raised her head and glanced across the room to where the blonde vampire was huddled over in an armchair, poring over a stack of newspapers and muttering to herself. Caroline seemed to take Stefan's abrupt departure as some kind of personal insult, and now she had thrown herself into the task of finding him with such a strong vendetta that it left the others reeling.

In a way, though, Bonnie understood Caroline's attitude. Stefan had been there from the beginning for Caroline—when she had turned into a vampire, when she had trouble controlling her bloodlust; teaching her how to hunt, how to hold on to her humanity. He'd been her rock, and her friend, and probably one of the few constants in her life. To have him leave so suddenly, just like Tyler had, was probably messing with her head.

And speaking of which…Bonnie glanced over to where Tyler was leaning against the bookshelf, pulling out books at random and flipping through them without any real conviction. He had said from the beginning that no amount of "research" was going to help them outsmart Klaus or find Stefan, and it was abundantly clear that he thought all of this was a colossal waste of time.

Sometimes, Bonnie thought he was right.

"I just don't understand you!" Damon bellowed at that moment, "Do you have a freakin' _death wish_? Why won't you just stay here WHERE YOU'LL BE SAFE?"

"This is Stefan we're talking about!" Elena hurled back, and nearly everyone in the library groaned simultaneously at the predictable response.

Their arguments were nothing if not repetitive.

"Seriously, do those two ever come up with new things to say?" Katherine asked as she blurred into the room, holding a stack of white papers in her hand. "I could hear their dulcet tones from halfway down the street."

"Of course you could, you're a vampire," Jeremy muttered under his breath.

Caroline's head snapped up, her eyes frantic. "What are those?" she demanded, pointing to what Katherine was holding, "Did you find anything?"

"The latest news articles from online," she answered, tossing the pile on to the table. "Alaric said to bring them over. He says there's a new lead."

"Probably another trick cooked up by Klaus," Tyler grumbled, "How many times are we going to fall into his traps? You know the guy is probably laughing at us right now, don't you?"

"Nobody is perfect," Caroline said through gritted teeth, her expression making it clear that she was just barely holding it together. "We're going to keep following these leads, because Klaus _will _screw up at some point. Eventually, one of these leads will pan out…And we're going to be there when it does. Got it?"

Everyone exchanged glances, but no one said anything.

"I can't always be worried about your safety!" Damon roared in frustration, "You always being in the middle of the fight—it's a _distraction_, Elena!"

"You know I _have _to be there, Damon! What if one of these times we actually _find _Stefan? I'm the only one that has a chance at talking him out of...well, whatever mind games Klaus is playing with him!"

"Anyone have a stake?" Katherine snarled, "I might just put myself out of this misery."

"Tell me about it," Jeremy rubbed his hands over his face tiredly, "Honestly, you'd think they'd be sick of fighting for three weeks_ straight_."

"Yeah, I think they're gonna drive us over the edge first," Tyler glared at the wall separating the two rooms, "And now we have to go on another road trip with them?"

Bonnie sighed inwardly. She'd had enough. "Okay," she stood up and began waving everyone through the door, "How about everyone goes home and gets what they need for the newest lead? Clothes, weapons, food, blood bags, the usual. According to Alaric's notes, it'll be about a 2 day drive to get there."

"I live here," Katherine started, letting out an indignant huff when Bonnie pushed her into the hallway with the others.

"Then go buy some supplies, or I don't know, make yourself useful and go help Ric pack. I don't care. Everyone meet back here in an hour, okay?" The group filed out the house reluctantly, with Jeremy sending her a suspicious look. She quickly kissed him to alleviate his concerns, then firmly shut the door behind them.

_Well, here goes nothing. _

Bonnie strode into the living room, but paused on the threshold to watch Damon and Elena. They were both standing over a table in the corner of the room, with Damon angrily tossing aside scraps of paper with failed leads. "Stefan's feeding again, Elena. You can't control it, don't you get that? _You _can't do anything about it!"

"I'm not gonna give up on finding him, Damon," she snapped back, her hands curling into fists at her sides. "I'm _going _with you guys!"

Damon opened his mouth to retort, but Bonnie cut him off in a calm voice, "You both need to stop."

He glanced over his shoulder at her, "What do you want? Where's everyone?"

"I sent them home to get supplies for the latest lead on Stefan's whereabouts," Bonnie replied, crossing her arms. "They'll be back in an hour."

"Fine," he turned away from her, "See you in an hour."

"I'll leave in a minute," Bonnie stepped further into the room, "But first I have to say something."

Elena sighed, dropping onto the sofa wearily, "What's wrong, now? Did something else happen?"

"You two are driving everyone crazy," Bonnie said bluntly, and Damon stiffened at her tone. "We're all worried about Stefan and we've all been doing our best to find him. So what if Klaus has been outsmarting us? I kinda think that would be expected considering he's got, like, _centuries_ of experience on us."

"We know that," Elena began, but Bonnie held up a hand to stop her.

"I'm not done. You two have been arguing constantly these past few weeks and, frankly, none of us can take it any more. Even worse, it's the same fight over and over again." She blew out a breath of air in exasperation, "Don't you see? It's like you guys are stuck in some kind of loop, and you're not only making yourselves miserable, but it's affecting everyone else, too."

Damon whirled back around to face her, a dozen emotions fighting for dominance across his face. "Anything else?" he growled, "Or are you done?"

"One more thing," Bonnie said evenly. She met his gaze, "We might not like each other very much, but I do respect you. The choices you make and the lengths you go to protect the people you care about. I get that. I would do the same."

His expression flickered with warning, "Bonnie..."

"But I'm also Elena's friend," she interrupted him, "And I don't like to see her hurting like this. And I don't like lying to her either."

Elena frowned, "What do you mean?"

Bonnie didn't miss the betrayal that flashed in Damon's eyes. "I'm sorry," she said to him truthfully, "But Elena deserves to know."

"Know what? What's going on?"

"Damon knows what happened during the trials. He remembers all of it."

Elena stood up, her eyes wide. "What? No, there must be some mistake...He doesn't—I mean, he _said _he didn't!"

"I tried to tell you that day," Bonnie said quietly, "That he would probably remember. But then he woke up and he chose to lie to protect you...because he was able to hear you wish that he wouldn't remember anything."

Damon clenched his jaw, "I need a drink."

"And now I'll leave you guys to talk," Bonnie backed out of the room as Damon fumbled with the bottles of liquor. She met Elena's gaze, "I'm sorry I kept it a secret for so long, but Damon had his reasons for not telling you and I..." She hesitated, "I understood where he was coming from." She smiled at her friend and mouthed, "Work it out. I'll be back in an hour."

Elena nodded wordlessly, sinking back down onto the sofa as the front door closed with a sharp snap.

.

The only sound in the room was the ice cubes clinking against Damon's glass. Elena ran her fingers through her hair, trying to decide what to say. After ten minutes, she finally whispered, "Why?"

The ice cubes stilled. "Why what?"

She winced at the harshness of his tone and lowered her voice, "Why did you want to keep it a secret? I would've been able to handle the truth."

"Would you?" Damon asked coldly, "Somehow, I didn't get that impression."

"Don't," Elena looked up at him bleakly, "Don't put this all on me. I didn't know you were awake when I said those things...I wanted to protect you from that guilt—"

He slammed the glass down on the coffee table so hard that she was momentarily stunned it didn't shatter. "News flash, _Elena," _he hissed, "I don't need your protection! I've been suppressing my feelings for you for so long that it's practically second nature at this point."

Tears sprang to her eyes and she dug her fingers into the cushions, slowly counting to ten in her head. "You know why I did what I did," she said shakily, "You've done so much for me._._.It was the least I could do."

"So you know why _I _did what I did, then," Damon said in a hard voice, and she got the impression that he reigning in his anger. "It was what you wanted. Everything I do...it's for you, Elena."

"I know," she admitted quickly, relieved that the conversation was gaining some momentum. "I'm not upset at what you did. I just wish you had told me the truth. We could've...These past few weeks would've been easier if we had been able to talk about it."

He shook his head, "What is there to discuss, Elena? Things happened in those trials, sure. But none of it was real. It doesn't change anything."

She swallowed, "But it _felt _real. At least to me."

Damon didn't respond for a minute, but then he said quietly, "It was real for me, too." He stood up and began pacing in front of the fireplace to avoid looking at her. "The Wrath trial, when I saw you die...don't you understand how much that's haunting me, Elena? Don't you get that's why I don't like it when you come on these road trips to search for Stefan? You're putting yourself in danger, and I don't..." he trailed off, "I _can't _see that ever happen again."

"I understand," Elena responded softly, "But I keep seeing the Sloth trial in my head...when everyone had died because of Klaus. Damon, I would _never _be able to forgive myself if I stayed behind within the safety of these four walls and something like that happened to everyone. I have to be there, even if..." She lowered her gaze, "Even if it's not safe."

He stopped pacing to stare at her with probing eyes, "It's not just Klaus and his minions that I'm worried about, Elena. You seem to have this notion that if Stefan just _sees _you, that everything will be okay." Damon waited until she was looking at him before he continued flatly, "It won't. You saw what Stefan on human blood was like in the Lust trial."

Elena sucked in a startled breath of air, flinching as she remembered Stefan rushing at her and throwing them both over the banister in his rage. "You saved me then," she said unthinkingly, glancing up at him.

"And I will always save you," he returned, "But—"

"But nothing," she cut him off firmly, "I trust you. With my life."

Damon's expression softened, "And I owe you mine. I wouldn't be standing here without you, Elena. I know I was a jackass in some of those trials..."

Elena smiled in spite of herself and she stood up to join him in front of the fireplace. "_Some _of the trials?" she teased, "More like _all _of them."

He pretended to be offended, placing a hand over his heart. "You wound me, Elena," he said playfully, "I do have a fragile ego, you know."

She laughed then, probably for the first time in weeks. Damon relaxed at the sound, reaching out to tuck a strand of hair behind her ear. Elena leaned into his touch, closing her eyes briefly. "Underneath all that bravado in those trials, you still showed me the human side of you," she whispered, "Every time."

Damon brushed his thumb against her cheek. "You bring out my humanity, Elena," he said huskily, "You always have."

"Speaking of humanity," she reached up with her own hand to cover the hand that he was resting against her cheek, "Do you remember what you said to me when you were dying? That I should've met you in 1864..."

"...And you would've liked me, then," Damon finished lightly, "I guess I got my wish in that Envy trial..."

"You were right," Elena whispered, "I did like the 1864-you." She took a deep breath, "In fact, I think I found myself falling in love with every single version of you." Damon tensed under her grip, but she didn't release his hand. "I was trying to figure it out," she went on, almost talking to herself, "Then I realized...it was because every single trial _was _you. Different aspects of your personality, different settings, different worlds...but still, undoubtedly, _you_."

Damon closed his eyes, "Elena..."

"No," she said quickly, taking a step forward so that she could lay a hand on his chest, "Please, I just...I need to say this. I felt like I was really getting to know you in those trials; the _real _you." She let her hand fall down his arm until their fingers were entwined. "I liked you then," she murmured, "And I like you now." He opened his eyes to look at her, surprised to see her standing so close. "I meant everything I said in all those trials, Damon."

He couldn't help the soaring sensation he experienced in his chest, and he unconsciously lowered his head so that his forehead was resting against hers. "You don't know what you're saying, Elena."

"I told you I loved you," she said unexpectedly, "I haven't forgotten."

Elena shivered as she felt Damon's arms wrap around her securely before he whispered, "And you still say you meant everything you said?"

"Every word."

She had barely finished the sentence before his mouth was on hers, desperately seeking something that had both craved for weeks. Her lips parted without thought, giving into all the feelings that she had kept tightly bottled inside, and gasping as he matched her emotions with a ferocity that had her hands tangling in his hair to bring him infinitely closer. Heat radiated through her body as his lips moved to her neck and she moaned as she buried her face into his shoulder.

"We have something, Elena," he muttered roughly in her ear, "You can't deny it anymore."

"I know," she pulled back to look at him, trying to catch her breath. "The connection between us...I can't explain it. But there's something drawing us together, and if there's one thing I learned from all this, it's that you can't fight fate. If something's meant to be, it'll happen."

Damon gazed down at her, "But for now we have to focus on finding Stefan."

She nodded, resting her head against his chest as he tightened his arms around her. "We'll find him, and we'll get rid of Klaus, and we'll help Stefan with his bloodlust, and—"

"And then we'll find a way to avert the next crisis, because this is Mystic Falls and trouble always seems to find you." Damon pressed a kiss onto the top of her head, "But after all that is over..."

Elena tipped her head back to look up at him. "After all that is over," she murmured, "I'll still be here."

"As will I," he lowered his head and Elena instantly captured his lips with her own. "You'll always be the one for me, Elena Gilbert," he mumbled between kisses, and he felt her smile against his lips.

"Likewise, Damon Salvatore."

As their kiss deepened, the fireplace crackled merrily behind them.

* * *

><p><em>fin.<em>

* * *

><p><strong>*<strong>_ah, the end of another wonderful adventure! thank you to all your wonderful comments along the way! school starts tomorrow, so this is probably my last fic for a while (until the winter, at least). but I'll definitely be watching the new season of TVD so be sure to follow me on twitter (tamilnadu09) so we can all talk about this (hopefully) awesome season! much love xoxo :)_


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